Vargas hits 2 HRs as Rieleros top TJ in Liga playoff opener

Aguascalientes' 3B Jose Vargas hit two homers Sunday

Jose Vargas' home run-hitting exploits have carried over into the postseason as he led his Aguascalientes Rieleros to a surprising win at Tijuana Sunday night in the Mexican League first round playoff opener for both teams.  The Rieleros finished twelve games behind the Toros in the LMB North during the regular season with a 64-46 record, going 2-7 against Tijuana and getting swept in two three-game series.

Elsewhere in LMB division semifinal lidlifters, there were no surprises as upper-seeds Monterrey, Yucatan and defending champion Puebla each won their respective best-of-7 Game One contests, all at home. Game Two action is scheduled for Monday.

Aguascalientes 7-12-0, TIJUANA 3-7-0
W-Del Rosario (1-0).  L-C. Hernandez (1-0).  A-17,201.  T-3:32.
Vargas was the star of the show as the fourth-place Rieleros surprised LMB North regular season champs Tijuana, 7-3, in front of 17,201 onlookers in the border city.  The 29-year-old Ventura, California product went 3-for-3 with a pair of two-run homers while Jesse Castillo socked an eighth-inning solo shot to place an exclamation point on the Aguascalientes win.  Starter Francisco Del Rosario combined with four relievers, including former Yankees reliever Sergio Mitre, to limit the potent Toros to three runs on seven hits.  Del Rosario tossed 5.1 innings for the win, giving up two runs on four hits and four walks, striking out seven. Tijuana took a 1-0 lead in the first, but Vargas (who went deep 23 times in the regular season) replied with his first two-run bomb in the second frame and added another in the fourth to put the Railroaders up 5-2.  TJ leadoff batter Jose Guadalupe Chavez had three hits, two of them doubles, and drove in two runs but Toros starter Carlos Hernandez gave up five runs in four innings, including both Vargas homers, to take the loss.

MONTERREY 5-14-0, Monclova 2-10-0
W-Struck (1-0).  L-Lowey (0-1).  A-22,458.  T-2:55.
Luis Juarez stroked a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie as Monterrey went on to take a 5-2 win over Monclova in their series opener with 22,458 in the stands at Estadio Monterrey.  The Sultanes drew first blood in the second when veteran Chris Roberson lined a two-out single to Acereros rightfielder Carlos Quentin, bringing in Daniel Mayora (who finally appeared in a couple of late-season games after going missing in the lineup since July 20, long enough to start appearing on milk cartons) and Agustin Murillo. Monclova knotted the score up in the top of the sixth on RBI singles from Quentin and Rudy Amador off Monterrey starter Javier Solano.  One-time Cubs farmhand Nick Struck replaced Solano after Amador's safety and tossed 2.1 innings of one-hit shutout ball through the eighth to earn the win for Monterrey and Wirfin Obispo hurled a 1-2-3 ninth for the save.  Roberson finished with three hits and a stolen base while Matt Clark went 3-for-4 for Monclova.

YUCATAN 2-3-0, Leon 0-3-0
W-Negrin (1-0).  L-Quevedo (0-1).  A-8,163.  T-2:08.
Leones starter Yoanner Negrin flashed the form that made him the Mexican League's 2016 Pitcher of the Year in Yucatan's 2-0 victory over surprising Leon in a briskly-played game at Merida.  The Cuban exile pitched eight innings of one-hit ball, striking out nine Bravos batsmen and walking just two as 69 of his 99 deliveries went for strikes.  Diego Madero scored the only run the Lions would need in the bottom of the first inning by hitting a one-out triple to center off Leon pitcher Marco Quevedo, then coming home on Ronnier Mustelier's sacrifice fly to Leander Castro in right.  The hosts added an insurance run in the fifth when Yuniesky Betancourt hit a leadoff single, went to second on Esteban Quiroz' sacrifice bunt and scored when Jose Aguilar lined a double to left.  Quevedo went all the way for Leon to take the tough-luck loss.  The Bravos were 45-60 in the regular season to finish fifth in the LMB South, but won a qualifier game at fourth-place Veracruz Friday in what may have been the final game for the Rojos del Aguila, rumored to be Nuevo Laredo-bound for 2018.

PUEBLA 7-14-0, Quintana Roo 1-10-0
W-Roenicke (1-0).  L-Loe (0-1).  A-7,146.  T-2:55.
Puebla first baseman Ricky Rodriguez had an RBI double and a grand slam homer to lead the defending champion Pericos to a convincing 7-1 win over Quintana Roo in their Sunday opener at Estadio Hermanos Serdan.  Jesus Arredondo and Rodriguez opened the bottom of the second inning with back-to-back doubles off Tigres starter Kameron Loe, a onetime Texas Rangers starter during his nine-year MLB career.  Rodriguez came in on a Sergio Perez sacrifice fly to put the Parrots up 2-0.  The Tigres got a run back in the top of the fourth when Sergio Contreras scored from second on Osniel Madera's single up the middle but Puebla put the game in their pockets when Rodriguez greeted Quintana Roo reliever Alberto Leyva by belting a bases-loaded homer over the left field wall to make it a 6-1 game.  Julio Borbon, who had three hits on the night, added a solo blast for the Pericos in the eighth.  Former MLB reliever Josh Roenicke, son of ex-big leaguer Gary, gave up one run in seven innings for the Puebla win while Loe (6.1 IP, 5 ER) absorbed the loss.  Like Veracruz, the Pericos are exploring a move in the offseason.

TUESDAY'S SCHEDULE
Aguascalientes (Flande, 12-6, 4.36) at Tijuana (Pena, 11-2, 2.77)
Monclova (Verdugo, 8-2, 2.64) at Monterrey (Castro, 11-6, 4.28)
Leon (Moscoso, 7-3, 3.89) at Yucatan (Russell, 1-0, 2.03)
Quintana Roo (Ortega, 10-9, 3.43) at Puebla (Outman, 7-1, 5.02)
NOTE: Pitchers' totals are from the regular season. Matchups are posted on Puro Beisbol's LMB POR DENTRO column.

Tigres sweep Tabasco, hold third in South with 3 games left

Two-time All-Star infielder Abel Martinez

It's been a long season in Cancun.  While many tourists may rejoice in that, the Quintana Roo Tigres would not likely share the sentiment.  Ever since Carlos Peralta, son of team founder Alejo Peralta, sold the Mexican League legacy franchise last winter to a small group of investors led by former Cy Young Award winner Fernando Valenzuela, little has seemingly gone right for the Tigres.  Off the field, Valenzuela's two partners bailed out on him, leaving the former Dodgers All-Star and wife Linda to go it alone in a city that has never really warmed to the team, with attendance at just over 3,000 per game in 2017.

On the field, several well-paid veterans were dispatched during the offseason but the newcomers that first-year GM Fernando Valenzuela, Jr. replaced them with have mostly failed to pick up the slack.  Manager Roberto Vizcarra, who led the Tigres to pennants in 2013 and 2015, was fired last month as a result but neither he nor new skipper Hector Hurtado have had much to work with.  Quintana Roo is last in the LMB in batting average (.264) and runs per game (3.91) and while the pitching has been better, only wily veteran Pablo Ortega is among the top 20 in ERA (12th at 3.17).  The 10-8 Ortega is also the only Tigres pitcher to reach double figures in wins.

Into this bleak picture, however, some late-arriving hope has arrived in the form of a seven-game winning streak, including sweeps last week of series against LMB South Division leaders Yucatan and South cellar-dwellars Tabasco at home in Estadio de Beisbol Beto Avila.  With three games left in the regular season, the Tigres have a 48-54 record.  In any other season, being six games under .500 gives little reason for optimism but in the crazy 2017 Liga campaign, it's good enough for Quintana Roo to take over third place in a South Division where only two of eight teams have winning records. Veracruz has dropped into fourth at 46-57 while Leon is fifth with a 43-59 mark, virtually assuring the Tigres a playoff berth at a time in which it appears the team may be peaking.

The Tigres wrapped up their home schedule Sunday with an 11-inning win over Tabasco, 5-4, in front of a season-high 6,309 fans.  Quintana Roo starter Kameron Loe was reached for four runs on nine hits over five innings, but five relievers combined to hold the Olmecas scoreless on two hits for the next six frames until 21-year veteran Abel Martinez lined a walkoff single up the middle off Tabasco reliever David Gutierrez to score Brian Hernandez from third in the bottom of the eleventh.  It was sweet revenge for the 40-year-old Martinez, who was released by Tabasco on June 6 despite a .313 average and spent the next month jobless until the Tigres came calling on July 4 and signed him.

While the Tigres have won seven in a row, Yucatan has struggled a bit of late at the top of the division.  Although the Leones have clinched the top postseason seed in the LMB South with a 61-41 record, the Merida club lost three of their last five games of July before embarking on a five-game losing skid to begin August until beating Campeche, 2-1, Sunday.  The Piratas had won seven of their last nine games.  The Lions host the Tigres for three games at Estadio Kukulcan Monday through Wednesday to close the regular season.  Second-place Puebla (55-52) will be at home to face fifth-place Leon (43-59) for three games.  The defending champion Pericos have picked up the pace under new manager Tim Johnson and clinched second but it's do-or-die time for the Bravos, who are two-and-a-half games behind fourth-place Veracruz (46-57) and need to finish within three games of the Aguilas to force a play-in game for the fourth and final seed in the South.

Things are only a little less muddled in the LMB North, where Tijuana (74-33) has clinched the division with a six-and-a-half-games lead over Monterrey (67-39).  The Sultanes are trying to hold off Monclova (66-39) for second, but regardless of who finished where, the two teams will open the playoffs against each other.  Who will Tijuana play in the first round?  That would be the Aguascalientes Rieleros (63-44), who won two of three over the Acereros in Monclova over the weekend, including a doubleheader sweep Saturday during which former MLB reliever Jose Valverde picked up saves in both games to bring his season total to 25.  Union Laguna (57-49) has not been eliminated from postseason contention but the Vaqueros need to sweep a home series against Durango (43-63) with the Rieleros dropping all three home games against Saltillo (42-63) to sneak into a play-in game.  Mexico City (55-51) will miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season after qualifying for the postseason 33 straight times.  The Diablos Rojos' demand to remain in the LMB North despite closer geographic proximity to LMB South teams now looks dubious; the Red Devils would be a half-game ahead of Puebla for second place in the South.

Former Durango outfielder Yadir Drake will back into the LMB batting title with a .385 average, just barely qualifying with exactly 300 plate appearances (the threshold was 299.7) before heading off to Japan at the end of June.  Only Monterrey's Daniel Mayora (.375) had a chance but Mayora hasn't played since July 20 with no explanation or transaction accompanying his absence.  Mayora had batted 17-for-40 (.425) with a homer and nine runs scored for the Sultanes in nine games after coming over from Durango, where paychecks are a rare treat, before disappearing from the lineup.  No word on when his visage will adorn milk cartons.

Saltillo's Rainel Rosario knocked out four homers last week to take the Liga lead with 25 for the season, one more than Tijuana's Corey Brown.  Rosario has a modest eleven-game hitting streak going, including two 3-hit games and five 2-hit nights, to bring his average up from .320 to .335 in that span.  The former Cardinals and Red Sox farmhand has also driven in 21 runs during his hit streak to overtake Yucatan's Ricky Alvarez for the RBI lead, 103 to 102.  Conversely, Alvarez has gone nine games without driving in a run for a total of 27 ribbies in 40 games with the Leones after bringing in 75 runs in 66 games for Laguna prior to the controversial June 20 trade that sent him to Merida.  Justin Greene of Monclova has had the stolen bases title locked up for some time, swiping two last week to bring his season total to 48, well ahead of former Saltillo teammate Christian Zazueta's 30 steals.

Although there've been some strong pitching performances in 2017, the list of candidates for Pitcher of the Year appears to be narrowed to two: Mexico City's Octavio Acosta and Nestor Molina of Veracruz.  A former Mets minor leaguer, Acosta beat Tijuana last Thursday to bring his record to 14-1, assuring him of the LMB wins title with no other hurler within three victories of him.  He also lowered his ERA to 2.99 (tenth in the circuit) with a strong outing against the potent Toros at Estadio Fray Nano, which is not a pitcher's park, and his 102 strikeouts rank sixth.  Molina was touched for five runs on seven hits over six innings last Thursday in Oaxaca, losing his second straight game to fall to 11-3 while his ERA went up from a phenomenal 1.54 to a merely remarkable 1.78.  Molina is tied for second in wins with five other pitchers and his 118 strikeouts are second only to the 138 of Monclova's Josh Lowey.

Acereros closer Chad Gaudin saved two games last week and now has 29, one more than Monterrey's Wirfin Obispo.  Obispo drilled Tijuana's Cyle Hankerd with an eighth-inning pitch and while Hankerd did finish the game, he'll be out of the Toros lineup with a resulting injury.  Some Tijuana observers believe Obispo deliberately hit Hankerd, stirring up bad blood between the two franchises that has existed since the Toros eliminated the Sultanes in the LMB North finals with a team laden with Mexican-American players (who do not count against the six-foreigner limit), a bone of contention with Monterrey owner Pepe Maiz that grew into a major offseason schism threatening the Liga's very future.

The biggest regular season-ending series?  They're all big for one reason or another, so here they are:  Mexico City at Monterrey, Saltillo at Aguascalientes, Durango at Union Laguna, Monclova at Tijuana, Leon at Puebla, Oaxaca at Veracruz, Campeche at Tabasco and Quintana Roo at Yucatan.  There will be no traditional Monday travel day so the schedule is slated to end Wednesday night.  Any seeding tiebreakers would be played Thursday.  If a play-in game is needed, they'd be played on Friday (or Saturday if a tiebreaker is first required).  The opening-round division semifinals will begin Sunday.

Mexican League Standings (through games of August 6)
LMB NORTH: Tijuana 74-33, Monterrey 67-39, Monclova 66-39, Aguascalientes 63-44, Union Laguna 57-49, Mexico City 55-51, Durango 43-63, Saltillo 42-63
LMB SOUTH: Yucatan 61-41, Puebla 55-52, Quintana Roo 48-54, Veracruz 46-57, Leon 43-59, Campeche 42-61, Oaxaca 40-65, Tabasco 36-68

Caneros win 6-5 thriller in 11, take MexPac title series lead

Veteran Saul Soto punched a two-run single in top of the eleventh inning and MLB free agent reliever Sergio Romo survived a shaky bottom of the frame as the Los Mochis Caneros held off the Mexicali Aguilas, 6-5, in the border city to take a 2-games-to-1 lead in the Mexican Pacific League championship series Tuesday night.

Los Mochis 6-15-1, MEXICALI 5-9-0

Chris Roberson opened the scoring in the bottom of the first for Mexicali by reaching second after tapping a leadoff bunt and drawing a hurried throw by Mochis pitcher Roy Merritt that sailed past Soto at first for an error, then scoring when Yuniesky Betancourt lined a single to center.  That's where the score stood halfwway through the seventh inning as Merritt and Aguilas starter Kameron Loe both contributed strong starts.  After throwing 104 pitches, Loe gave way to reliever Jose Meraz in the top of the seventh.

Meraz was the first of four Mexicali pitchers to see duty in that inning alone, as the Caneros scored four runs to take the lead.  Meraz got the first out before allowing a double to Eugenio Velez, after which Aguilas manager Roberto Vizcarra replaced him with Jose Manuel Lopez.  Isaac Rodriguez greeted Lopez with a single that moved Velez to third, followed by an RBI single that drove in Velez with the go-ahead run.  Lopez was yanked for Fautino de los Santos, who drilled J.C. Linares in the left arm on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases. Linares had to be replaced by pinch-runner Sergio Garcia.  Leandro Castro then topped a dribbler back to the mound for an infield single that plated Rodriguez.  Unnerved, de los Santos then threw a wild pitch to Soto, which resulted in Ford crossing the plate with another Caneros run.  Soto went on to draw a walk, enough for Vizcarra to emerge from the dugout to wave in Manuel Chavez with the bases still loaded and only one out. Chavez got the final two outs, the first coming on a Yosmany Guerra sacrifice fly to right that brought in Garcia to make it a 4-1 Los Mochis lead.

That's where the score stood as Merritt put in one more inning on the hill for the Caneros before skipper Luis Sojo replaced him with Oliver Perez in the bottom of the eighth.  Perez immediately found trouble by giving up a leadoff single to Jon Del Campo and walking Ramon Rios.  After striking out Roberson for the first out, Perez allowed a Bourgeois triple to center, bringing in both Del Campo and Rios to close the Aguilas deficit to a one run.  Sojo then called in reliever Isaac Rodriguez, who got the second out before C.J. Retherford lined a double to left that scored Bourgeois with the tying run. Luis Juarez then hit an inning-ending flyout to Velez in left.

Neither team scored in the ninth to send the game into extra innings, followed by a scoreless tenth.  The eventful eleventh opened with Edgar Osuna on the hill for Mexicali after usual closer Jake Sanchez gave the Aguilas two scoreless frames.  Rodriguez (the second baseman, not the reliever) laid down a bunt in front of the plate and beat Osuna's throw to first for a single.  After a Ford bunt moved Rodriguez to second, Sergio Garcia toppled a first-pitch comebacker to the mound for the second out as Rodriguez stayed put on second. Osuna intentionally walked Castro to set up a force play at all three bases, but that strategy was scuttled when Soto rapped a full-count offering into left field to score both Rodriguez and Castro to give the visitors a 6-4 lead.  Guerra grounded out to Retherford at first to end the frame for Mochis.

Romo then emerged from the bullpen to replace Santago Gutierrez, who'd tossed two perfect innings for Mochis.  Things didn't start off well for the three-time World Series champ, as he allowed a leadoff single to Betancourt, threw a wild pitch to Retherford to advance Bentacourt to second and then coughed up a Retherford line-drive single to left that brought Betancourt in with the Aguilas' fifth run.  Sergio settled down after that, retiring Agustin Murillo on a line drive to Velez and inducing pinch-hitter Emmanuel Avila into a groundout to second to end the game with Mochis the victors by a 6-5 count.

Gutierrez got the win for the Caneros to go to 2-0 in the postseason and Romo recorded his seventh playoff save while Osuna was tagged with the loss to even his playoff record at 1-1.  Merritt allowed one run on four hits with five strikeouts for Mochis in another strong outing for the Southern University product, while the 6'8" Loe (a former Texas Rangers starter) scattered seven hits and struck out eight Caneros batters in his six innings of shoutout pitching for Mexicali.  Six Caneros batsmen recorded two hits each in the Caneros' 15-hit attack as Soto's pair of singles raised his playoff batting average to .340. Retherford, Murillo and Betancourt each had two hits for the Aguilas, with the latter's postseason average going up to .347 via his two safeties.

A crowd of 17,000 packed the stands at Mexicali's Estadio B'Air, which will be the site of Game Five Wednesday night at 7:30PM PST (0330 UTC).  Luids Niebla will get the start for the Caneros while Javier Solano takes the mound for the Aguilas.

Culiacan ties series, Hermosillo gets first semi win

Issmael Salas had two run-scoring singles and longtime MLBer Oliver Perez (pictured) retired all four batters he faced to earn the win in relief as Culiacan defeated Los Mochis, 4-1, Sunday in front of 16,675 aficionados at Estadio de los Tomateros, evening their Mexican Pacific League semifinal series with the Caneros at two games apiece.  In the other MexPac Final Four contest, Barry Enright gave up one run on six hits over eight innings to pitch Hermosillo to a 2-1 knucklebiter win over Mexicali at Estadio Sonora as 16,572 looked on.  The Naranjeros now trail Mexicali, 2 games to 1, after Saturday's game in Hermosillo was rained out.

Game Four between the Tomateros and Mochis is set for Monday night in Culiacan while Game Three of the Naranjeros-Aguilas matchup will be held in Hermosillo.


CULIACAN 4-11-0, Los Mochis 1-7-2

Tomateros starter Edgar Gonzalez gave manager Enrique "Che" Reyes a few anxious moments after retiring the first seven Caneros batters he faced. Gonzalez allowed a Sebastian Valle solo homer and a Juan Carlos Gamboa double in the third inning, then served up a leadoff two-bagger to former Twins outfielder Lew Ford in the fourth before issuing subsequent one-out walks to J.C. Linares and Saul Soto. That was enough for skipper Reyes to bring his hook to the mound, replacing the ex-Diamondbacks hurler with Dennys Reyes (no relation).  The latter, who pitched for eleven MLB teams from 1997 to 2011, has a ballpark named after him in his hometown of Higuera de Zaragoza, Sinaloa

After Reyes and Hector Navarro combined to stop the bleeding, Culiacan got the run back in the bottom of the fourth when Salas singled in Jose Manuel Rodriguez from third to tie things up at 1-1.  The score remained unchanged until the Tomateros took the lead in the seventh when Ramiro Pena poked a single through the right side of the infield, scoring Maxwell Leon from second.  Culiacan posted a pair of insurance runs in the eighth as Salas singled in Rodriguez off reliever Jon Sintes and Ali Solis lofted a Santiago Guerrero pitch to Linares in right field for a sac fly to plate Sebastian Elizalde from third, bringing the score to 4-1.  It was left to Derrick Loop to finish things up in the ninth, which he did to earn his third playoff save and even the series at 2 games to 2.

Oliver Perez came in for the Tomateros to get the final out of the sixth inning, then pitched a 1-2-3 seventh to pick up the win.  The 34-year-old Culiacan native appeared in 64 MLB games for the Nationals last summer, going 2-3 with a 4.95 ERA in a middleman role.  After Gonzalez was lifted, six pitchers combined to hold Mochis scoreless on four hits from the fourth inning on.  Julian Arballo took the loss for the Caneros in a hard-luck outing.  The former Yankees minor leaguer pitched well enough to win, allowing two runs in seven innings, but it's hard to get the W when your teammates score only one run and go 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.


HERMOSILLO 2-6-1, Mexicali 1-6-1

After allowing 24 runs over two losses in Mexicali, the Naranjeros needed a good pitching performance to keep from falling behind 3-0 in their series with the Aguilas and Barry Enright provided the tonic.  The former D-backs and Dodgers hurler turned in a sparkling eight-inning start, letting in just one Mexicali run while scattering six hits and striking out five as Hermosillo pulled off a 2-1 come-from-behind win.

Enright and the Orangemen fell behind, 1-0, in the top of the fourth when Yuniesky Betancourt stroked a leadoff double, eventually moved to third when Hermosillo centerfielder Jason Bourgeois misplayed Efren Navarro's fly ball, and then scored the first run of the night when Agustin Murillo grounded out to Naranjeros shortstop Jorge Flores.  It looked like that one run might hold up, as Mexicali starter Kameron Loe pitched beautifully, retiring eleven batters in a row before giving up a Tim Torres double in the fifth.  The Naranjeros were able to load the bases with two out against Loe in the bottom of the sixth, but manager Lorenzo Bundy replaced Loe with Jose Meraz, who induced Dustin Martin to tap a comebacker to the mound for an inning-ending groundout.  The Naranjeros finally tied the game in the bottom of the eighth when Bourgeois hit a leadoff single up the middle off Fautino De Los Santos, stole second, took third on a Carlos Gastelum single and scored when Aguilas closer Jake Sanchez (who may be human after all) allowed an O'Koyea DIckson single.  Sanchez allowed another single to Jose Amador to score Gastelum, giving the Naranjeros a 2-1 advantage.  Rafael Martin, who spent some MLB time with Washington last year, was brought in and got the final three outs, as pinch-hitter Adan Munoz struck out swinging to end the game.

It was a pitcher's night on both sides, with Gastelum collecting two singles for the only multiple-hit game for either team.  Enright ran his playoff record to 3-0 with the win and Martin earned his third save in the postseason.  Loe ended up going 5.2 innings and giving up just two hits and three walks.  Neither run Sanchez allowed was charged to him, keeping his season-long total of earned runs allowed at one (1), while throwing 10 of his 11 pitches for strikes.  For one night, though, the native of Brawley, Calfornia (as are Los Mochis' Julian Arballo and Sergio Romo, who has yet to pitch in the other semi) couldn't seal the deal.