TJ SWEEPS RIELEROS IN LMB NORTH FIRST ROUND

Monterrey OF Jose Cardona (r)

It took them a second day to do it, but the defending Mexican League champion Tijuana Toros completed an 11-1 win in Aguascalientes Sunday to complete a four-game sweep over the Rieleros in their first round playoff series, punching a ticket to the LMB North semifinals in the process.

The game was somewhat closer than the final score indicates as Tijuana took a 4-1 lead into the top of the eighth, where they put two more runs on the scoreboard on Leandro Castro’s homer and then put the contest away with five counters in the ninth as Nick Williams and Felix Perez added two-run roundtrippers of their own off Ags closer Ryan Kussmaul. Toros starter Arturo Reyes combined with five relievers on a four-hitter as Carlos Rivero’s solo homer to left off Reyes in the second gave the Railroaders their lone run.

Elsewhere in the LMB North, Dos Laredos defeated Union Laguna in five games while Monterrey did likewise with Monclova. The Tecolotes advanced to the LMB semis with an emphatic 15-2 road win Sunday at venerable Estadio de Revolucion. The Algodoneros actually led 2-1 after five entradas before the visitors posted 14 runs over the next three frames, including a 9-run eighth. Kennys Vargas went 4-for-6 for the borderites, scoring once and driving in four teammates as the Tecos’ 16-hit attack included no extra-base hits. Surprise starter Brandon Brennan, a reliever since 2016, got the win after scattering two runs on nine hits over five innings. Algodoneros reliever Josh Lueke had a nightmarish outing, allowing six runs on three hits and three walks in one-third of the eighth inning.

While Dos Laredos was pummeling Union Laguna, Monterrey needed a run in the bottom of the ninth to top Monclova, 6-5, clinching their 4-1 series win. Keon Broxton homered twice for the Acereros, including a two-run blast in the top of the ninth that pulled the visitors into a 5-5 tie, while longtime Sultanes star Chris Roberson (now playing right and batting eighth for Monclova) socked a solo shot in the fifth. However, the game was won in the bottom of the ninth when speedy Sultanes center fielder Jose Cardona manufactured the winning run the old-fashioned way.

Cardona singled on a bang-bang play via a grounder to Acereros shortstop Addison Russell, stole second, advanced to third on Sebastian Elizalde’s groundout and motored in on a Wirfin Obispo wild pitch to Zoilo Almonte to end the contest. Despite allowing Broxton’s game-tying homer, reliever Neftali Feliz was awarded the win. Although they lost the series, Monclova will stay alive by virtue of the “lucky loser” system, in which the team with the best showing in a first-round losing cause advances to the next round. The Acereros will take on Tijuana in the LMB North semis while the Sultanes face Dos Laredos.

DIABLOS OUST AGUILAS 4-0, REACH LMB SOUTH SEMIS

Mexico City 1B Roberto Ramos

After finishing with an LMB South-best 58-34 record, the Mexico City Diablos Rojos carried their regular season success into the playoffs by bouncing the Veracruz Aguilas out of the postseason in four straight first round games and advancing to the division semifinals.

Mexico City delivered the coup de grace over their ancient rivals, 4-2, Sunday night in front of 6,500 fans in Veracruz. The win was fairly methodical for the Red Devils, who scored single runs in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings and got a solid performance from reliever Francisco Haro, who tossed four innings and allowed one run on four hits to earn the win. 

The Diablos benefitted from a pair of solo homers off the bat of former Rockies farmhand Roberto Ramos, who swatted 38 homers for Korea’s LG Twins in 2020 but was released the following season when he struggled at the plate. Ramos struggled for the Red Sox’ AAA Worcester affiliate this year (a .158 average with 5 homers and 16 RBI in 39 games) but warmed up with Mexico City by batting .272 with 10 homers and 28 ribbies over 26 contests.

In another LMB South first round series, Quintana Roo closed out their series against Tabasco with a 13-4 Game Five win Monday night in Cancun. The Olmecas went up 1-0 in the top of the first when Herlis Rodriguez scored on Francisco Rivera’s sacrifice fly, but the Tigres knotted it up in the bottom of the frame when Olmo Rosario homered to right. Jorge Rivera lined a two-run single to left to give the Tigres a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. 

From that point both teams traded in the fifth and sixth (when Rosario poled his second homer for Quintana Roo), with the Tigres holding a 6-4 head heading into the seventh, when they iced the game and series with a seven-run outburst highlighted by Tito Polo’s grand slam off Tabasco reliever Fernando Salas to end the night’s scoring. Ricky Rodriguez had four hits, missing the cycle by one homer, for the winners while scoring three runs and driving in two. Felipe Arredondo tossed 1.2 perfect innings in relief for the series-clinching win. Both the Tigres and Diablos Rojos are waiting for the third LMB South first round series to conclude so they’ll know who’s next on their respective postseason schedules.

Finally, Game Five of the Puebla-Yucatan series in Merida Monday was scoreless through four innings before Peter O’Brien’s solo homer for the Pericos in the top of the fifth broke the spell and launched a see-saw battle. Art Charles belted a two-run circuit clout in the bottom of the sixth to put Yucatan ahead but the Pericos regained the lead in the seventh on Armando Aguilar’s two-run bomb. Then the Leones took the lead back in the bottom of the eighth, 4-3, on RBI singles by Christhian Adames and Yadir Drake and it was left to Jorge Rondon to hold Puebla scoreless in the top of the ninth for the save as Yucatan took a 3-2 series lead.

Game Six is slated for Wednesday night in Puebla. Game Six is slated for Wednesday night in Puebla. Both teams have qualified for the LMB South semis since both have more wins in this series than either Veracruz (0) or Tabasco (1) earned in their respective sets, meaning the “lucky loser” will emerge from this matchup.

LMP GAMES TELEVISED TO USA BLOCKED BY SKY SPORTS

LMP president Carlos Manrique

The Mexican Pacific League has begun a new era under the presidency of Carlos Manrique, who has replaced Omar Canizales after the latter had served 13 seasons at the helm overseeing tremendous growth in attendance and the building or renovation of all but one of ten LMP ballparks during his reign. By the end of Canizales’ reign, the Mex Pac routinely drew much larger attendance per game than any affiliated minor league north of the border.

 An industrial engineer with over two decades of experience working for large national and international corporations, Manrique had been a general director with the Voit sporting goods manufacturing company for five years prior to replacing Canizales in April. Some things never change no matter who is running the show, however, and Manrique is already facing a challenge involving the availability of MexPac games to TV viewers in the USA.

Septima Entrada writer Irving Furlong reports that while Manrique wants to take viewership of the league to an international level, the agreement that the league has with SKY Sports at this time blocks the LMP from sending its signal to the United States. One of the first points that Manrique touched on in a recent presentation was precisely to internationalize the circuit and take it to the country with perhaps the greatest presence of Mexican people outside the nation’s borders: the USA. 

"The United States market is very important,” said Manrique during his presentation. ”The Hispanic market is one of the fastest-growing markets in the United States and quality content is demanded to serve and reach that market. We are going to find a way to get there first through the media.” 

However, the agreement signed at the beginning of 2020 with the satellite television platform blocks the LMP from accessing the United States by having the live and exclusive broadcast of all their games. "We want to talk with SKY," said Manrique. “We are going to sit down and see what options we have and look for a better scheme that is convenient for all parties and see how we can reach other markets as quickly as possible.” 

For the 2022-23 season, the Mex Pac will begin the third of its four-year contract with SKY Sports, a UK-based television system that at the time boasted a presence in the Dominican Republic and Panama (countries with long histories in baseball) but far from the 37 million Mexicans living in various parts of the United States, according to the US Census Bureau in 2017. 

Under current agreements, Manrique and the LMP office will instead continue to seek to position themselves in the center of Mexico, placing special emphasis on Mexico City.

YUCATAN, TIJUANA TO MEET IN 2021 SERIE DEL REY

    The Yucatan Leones and Tijuana Toros closed out their respective Mexican League Division Championship Series last week and will clash in Game One of the Serie del Rey Monday night in Tijuana. The Leones defeated Mexico City in five games the LMB South title while the Toros required six games to dispatch Guadalajara in the LMB North finals. Both the Diablos Rojos and Mariachis finished first in their respective divisions during the regular season.

    The following is a recap of last week's Liga playoff games:

YUCATAN DEFEATED MEXICO CITY, 4 GAMES TO 1

Leones celebrate LMB South title

    After the Leones won the first two games of the LMB South Championship Series in Mexico City, both teams moved to Merida for the next three contests, starting with last Monday's 5-3 Yucatan win over the Diablos. Mexico City drew initial blood in the top of the first inning when Jesus Fabela scored from third on Japhet Amador's bases-loaded, 6-4-3 double play grounder. Yucatan answered in the bottom of the frame with Yadir Drake launching a two-run homer to put the hosts up 2-1. Another longball by Leones outfielder Jose Juan Aguilar in the bottom of the second made it a 3-1 contest and Yucatan maintained their advatange the rest of the night. Drake ended the game batting 3-for-4 in support of starter Jake Thompson, who let in two runs on three hits over six innings. Diablos opener Luis Rodiguez took the loss after allowing four runs in five innings.

    Mexico City won their only game of the series, 6-4, last Tuesday. The Leones held a 3-2 lead after six innings before the Diablos posted two runs in the top of the seventh, including a Fabela RBI single, and two more tallies in the eighth when Yucatan reliever Rafael Ordaz came in for Enrique Burgos with the bases loaded and promptly plunked Fabela to push across one run and walked Juan Carlos Gamboa to score another, ending Ordaz' night. Luis Juarez slammed a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth but the Leones drew no closer. Yangervis Solarte belted a pair of roundtrippers for the winners (both off Yucatan starter Casey Harman) while Sebastian Valle and Walter Ibarra socked solo homers for the Lions.

    Yucatan ended the series at home last Wednesday with a 9-7 triumph in comeback fashion. The Leones were up 6-4 going into the top of the eighth, when Mexico City took the lead with three runs, including a single by Gamboa that sent Julian Ornelas home. Juarez reversed the Red Devils' 7-6 lead in the bottom of the eighth by rocking his second homer of the night (and third in two games), a three-run blast over the left-field wall on Roberto Osuna's second pitch of the game. It was left to Burgos to record a 1-2-3 ninth and whiff Eduardo Revilla swinging for the final out to end the contest and the series. Juarez, who hit .550 for the series, went 3-for-3 with three runs and four RBIs for the LMB South champs while Gamboa was 3-for-5 with a pair of ribbies.

TIJUANA DEFEATED GUADALAJARA, 4 GAMES TO 2

TJ's Luis Alfonso Cruz and Ricky Alvarez

   Like Yucatan, Tijuana opened the LMB North Championship Series with two wins but after losing two of three games at home, the Toros had to wait until Friday's Game Six victory in Guadalajara to put the Mariachis away and advance to the Serie del Rey. Guadalajara won last Monday's contest, 4-3, in TJ's Estadio Nacional. The game was tied 3-3 in the top of the ninth before the Mariachis scored the go-ahead run off Toros closer Fernando Rodney without a hit: Issmael Salas's grounder to third was badly mishandled by Luis Alfonso Cruz, with Salas advancing to third on the play and later scoring on a Luis Sardinas sacrifice fly. Fernando Cruz tossed a scoreless ninth for the win. Carlos Mendivil clubbed a two-run homer for Guadalajara and added an RBI single while Gabriel Gutierrez went deep for the Toros.

    Last Tuesday, the Toros topped Guadalajara, 7-3, to come within a game of clinching the series. In the bottom of the first, TJ manufactured an old-school run when Isaac Rodriguez singled, moved to second on a Junior Lake safety, stole third and then scored when Mariachis rightfielder Anthony Garcia couldn't hang on to a Leandro Castro fly ball. However, it was Efren Navarro's three-run double off Guadalajara starter Zack Dodson in the bottom of the third to give Tijuana a 4-0 that proved the decisive blow. Rodriguez went 2-for-5 on the night with a pair of runs while the Mariachis' LMB bat champ Leo Heras was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer. Carlos Hernandez got the win for the Toros by tossing five innings of two-run ball and Rodney earned his third save of the series. Dodson absorbed the loss.

    The Mariachis came back Wednesday to make it two road wins in three games, pounding Tijuana, 12-5. Holding a 4-2 lead at the time, Guadalajara put together an eight-run fifth to chase Toros starter Teddy Stankiewicz. Sardinas clubbed a two-run homer for the visitors while reliever Jose Samayoa's throwing error on a Beau Amaral comebacker on the mound resulted in two more Mariachis scores. Sardinas posted a 3-for-5 night with two homers, four RBIs and three runs scored for the winners. Edson Garcia homered for Tijuana, who drew an announced 44,719 for their three home games. After losing the series opener in Guadalajara, LMB wins champion Masaru Nakamura got the win with six innings of work, allowing two runs on five hits with five strikeouts.

    After the series moved back to Guadalajara for Game Six, Tijuana eliminated the Mariachis on Friday by a 5-4 count. Heras' three-run homer off Toros starter Joe Van Meter in the bottom of the fourth gave Guadalajara a 3-0 lead, but TJ came back to score four times in the top of the fifth, with Cruz busting a two-run homer and Rodriguez punching a run-scoring single. Ricky Alvarez gave the Toros a 5-3 lead with an RBI singleton in the top of the ninth and while Christian Ibarra's double in the bottom of the ninth off Rodney brought Heras in to bring the Mariachis within a run, but after Rodney walked Mendivil to put runners on first and second, he induced Amaral to hit a grounder to Daniel Castro for a game-ending double play, escaping with his fourth save of the series and Tijuana advancing to the finals.

2021 SERIE DEL REY Schedule
Game 1: Monday, September 6 (10:05PM EDT) Yucatan at Tijuana
Game 2: Tuesday, September 7 (10:05PM EDT) Yucatan at Tijuana
Game 3: Thursday, September 9 (7:00PM EDT) Tijuana at Yucatan
Game 4: Friday, September 10 (7:00PM EDT) Tijuana at Yucatan
Game 5: Saturday, September 11 (7:00PM EDT) Tijuana at Yucatan*
Game 6: Monday, September 13 (10:05PM EDT) Yucatan at Tijuana*
Game 7: Tuesday, September 14 (10:05PM EDT) Yucatan at Tijuana*
*-If necessary

MEX PAC CAMPS OPEN, FIVE IMPORTS ALLOWED PER TEAM

Hermosillo infielder nabs grounder

    As the Mexican League season enters its final days, training camps for Mexican Pacific League teams have begun opening. Sessions for players and coaches began last Thursday in Los Mochis, Hermosillo, Navojoa and Culiacan. All ten Mex Pac teams should have their camps running at full speed by the end of the week in preparation for the 2021-22 regular season, which opens with three games on Tuesday, October 5 when Mazatlan plays at Culiacan, Mexicali visits Hermosillo and Monterrey travels to Guadalajara to take on the Jalisco Charros (who may be under new ownership by then)

    This season, the LMP's ten clubs will be allowed to carry five foreigners on their active rosters after teams were limited to just three imports each as the pandemic made travel across the border a near impossibility. After an Assembly of Presidents meeting this summer, the league office issued a statement that read in part, “By a majority of votes, the number of imported players was made official. Each team may have up to five foreigners on its active roster, maintaining the inactive periods of 5 days for position players and 10 days for pitchers.” During the 2018-19 campaign, teams were allowed twelve imports in the first half and eight imports for the second half.

Culiacan coach instructing players

    One of those imports will be infielder Addison Russell, a former National League All-Star who was a member of the Chicago Cubs' 2016 World Series championship team. After spending part of the 2020 season with the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization, where he hit .254 with two homers and 31 RBIs over 65 games, Russell spent this summer in the Mexican League with the Monclova Acereros. Playing primarily at third base for the defending champions, the Florida native hit .318 with eight longballs and 47 RBIs in 66 games, leading the Steelers in batting and ribbies and finishing tied for second in homers. It's not known where Hermosillo manager Juan Navarrete, a Salon de la Fama second baseman, will place Russell in the Naranjeros infield.

    Another import with big league due to make his LMP debut is hulking designated hitter Kennys Vargas, a Puerto Rico native who'll toil for the Los Mochis Caneros this winter. The 6'5” 290-pound Vargas spent parts of four seasons with the Minnesota Twins between 2014 and 2017, hitting an aggregate .251 with 3 homers and 116 RBIs over 116 games. After belting 21 homers for the Twins' AAA Rochester affiliate in 2018, Vargas spent 2019 in Japan with the Chiba Lotte Marines and batted .179 with a homer and six RBIs in 35 NPB games while also hitting .267 for the Marines' Eastern League farm team. This summer, Vargas played his first season in the Mexican League for Saltillo and had a solid campaign for the Saraperos with a .318 average, finishing third in homers with 18 while playing all 66 regular season games. There is concern that Vargas will only play the first month of the LMP season with the Caneros before heading home to Puerto Rico, where he's played winterball for Mayaguez. The Roberto Clemente League starts its schedule later than the Mex Pac.

U-23 WORLD CUP, CARIBBEAN SERIES SCHEDULES RELEASED

    The full schedules have been released for both the 2021 WBSC Under-23 Baseball World Cup and the 2022 Caribbean Series tournaments.

    The 12-team U-23 Baseball World Cup in Mexico will open Thursday, September 23 with tripleheaders in both Obregon and Hermosillo and conclude with the Gold and Bronze medal games on Saturday, October 2 in Hermosillo.

    Group A nations in the opening round at Estadio Yaquis in Obregon include Cuba, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Taiwan and host Mexico. Group B teams in Hermosillo's Estadio Sonora are Colombia, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, South Korea and Venezuela. The top three finishers in each Group will advance to the Super Round in Hermosillo while the bottom three seeds will be relegated to Obregon for the Consolation Round, both beginning on Wednesday, September 29.

    Tripleheaders will be played throughout the World Cup except for the final day. Games at both venues are scheduled for 10:30AM, 3:00PM and 7:30PM local time from September 23 through October 1 (with a rest day set for September 28). The Bronze Medal game on October 2 in Hermosillo begins at 1:00PM with a 7:30PM start for the Gold Medal game.

    The WBSC previously ruled to expand the age category for the U-23 Baseball World Cup in Mexico to include players up to the age of 24. Previous tourneys have included young professional players from the Australian Baseball League (ABL), Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Major League Baseball (MLB), Minor League Baseball (MiLB), Mexican Baseball League (LMB), Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League (LNBP), Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and other leagues around the world. 

   Meanwhile, the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation has released the schedule for the 2022 Caribbean Series to be played in the Dominican Republic at Santo Domingo's Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal. Built in 1955 and renovated in 2007, the 14,469-seat ballpark serves as home for both the Licey Tigres and Escogido Leones of the Liga Dominicana and will be hosting its ninth Serie del Caribe since 1972.

    As with the U-23 Baseball World Cup in Sonora, the Caribbean Series will feature tripleheaders throughout the five-day opening round-robin portion of the tournament between January 28 and February 1, with games scheduled for 10:30AM, 3:00PM and 8:00PM (as per tradition, the host LiDom champions will play in every nightcap). A doubleheader with games at 3:00PM and 8:00PM is set for the February 2 semifinals while first pitch for the February 3 championship game will take place at 7:00PM. All times are local.

    The same six nations represented in 2020 (San Juan) and 2021 (Mazatlan) will be sending their heavily-reinforced national champions to Santo Domingo: Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. The host Dominicans are seeking their 22nd Serie del Caribe title, Puerto Rico is looking for number 17 and the Mexican Pacific League will be hoping for a tenth title. Venezuela has seven championships, Panama has won the event twice and Colombia's pennant-winner will try to win that country's first game.