LEYVA, VALLE GIVE LEONES 1-1 TIE IN SERIE DE REY

Yucatan Leones pitcher Elian Leyva

After taking a lead role in overcoming a 3-games-to-1 deficit to win the Mexican League South Division Championship Series over the heavy-hitting Mexico City Diablos Rojos, Yucatan pitcher Elian Leyva could be forgiven if he was exhausted heading into the LMB’s Serie del Rey against Monterrey to determine this year’s pennant winner.

Instead, the two-time Mexican Pacific League Pitcher of the Year showed no ill effects of facing one the Liga’s most potent offenses over seven games, including a pivotal relief stint in the LMB South title series clincher, Sunday against the Sultanes. Leyva gave the Leones four-hit shutout pitching until being lifted by manager Roberto Vizcarra (who led the Merida squad to the Spring 2018 crown) one out into the seventh inning of a 1-0 win over the hometown Sultanes, disappointing the capacity crowd of 21,909 at Estadio Monterrey. By then, the 33-year-old righty had thrown 84 pitches (52 for strikes), struck out seven Sultanes hitters and not allowed a baserunner past second base. Three relievers went on to preserve the shutout, with closer Jorge Rondon getting the final three outs in the ninth for the save to tie the series at one game apiece.

Obviously, manager Roberto Kelly’s Sultanes were getting some pretty good pitching too. Julio Teheran, who has had an excellent postseason, gave up five hits and struck out four Leones batsmen in a solid five-inning performance of his own. Unfortunately for the ex-Braves starter, two of those hits came in the top of the fateful fifth frame. Yadir Drake led off with a single and one out later motored in from first on Sebastian Valle’s double to left fielder Jose Figueroa, whose throw to catcher Ali Solis was not in time to nail the 2017 LMB batting champion, who has hit .342 over five summers in Mexico. Five different players had a hit for Yucatan Sunday while Sebastian Elizalde and ex-Yankees prospect Ramiro Pena split four of Monterrey’s five safeties.

The series opened on Saturday night (a day later than the scheduled Friday opener because the Yucatan-Mexico City went the full seven games) with a 4-3 Sultanes win in front of 19,026 fans at Estadio Monterrey.  The Leones took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a Luis Juarez RBI single but the Sultanes tied it up in the bottom of the second on a Jose Figueroa groundout when baserunner Orlando Calixte ran home from third on the play and drew an errant throw to the plate from first baseman Art Charles. Monterrey took a 2-1 lead one innings later on Zoilo Almonte’s one-bagger that plated Jose Cardona from third but Sebastian Valle’s homer off reliever Manuel Chavez in the fifth lifted Yucatan back into a 2-2 tie.

The Sultanes regained the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth when Calixte lined a full-count double to left off reliever Jake Thompson, who had just come in for Chavez, scoring Victor Mendoza all the way from first. After advancing to third on a Thompson wild pitch to Ramiro Pena, Calixte made it a 4-2 contest by coming in on Pena’s sacrifice fly to right. Juarez’ two-out single drove in Josh Fuentes in the top of the seventh but the Leones got no closer as Monterrey skipper Roberto Kelly replaced reliever Wander Suero with Jose Martinez, who combined with two other bullpen mates to shut down the visitors the rest of the way. Juan Gamez was awarded the win after pitching a scoreless sixth for Monterrey and Neftali Feliz earned the save while Chavez took the opening loss for Yucatan.

The Serie del Rey now moves to Merida for Tuesday’s Game Three.

Yucatan earned the LMB South championship (and their slot in the title series) with a miraculous seven-game defeat of Mexico City after having trailed the Diablos Rojos, 3 games to one, at one point. Following their 2-0 home shutout over the Red Devils last Sunday to stave off elimination, the Leones then took the final two games of the set before hostile crowds in the nation’s capital at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu.

Game Six began last Tuesday and ended a day later with a wild 21-18 Yucatan win in ten innings. A six-run outburst in the bottom of the seventh keyed by a Roberto Ramos three-run homer gave Mexico City an 18-7 lead. Valle’s three-run roundtripper of his own in the top of the eighth off Connor Greene cut the Diablos lead to five and the visitors tied it up at 18-18 in the top of the ninth with five more runs on a three-run longball from Cristhian Adames and a two-run blast off the bat of Fuentes.

After Andre Tovalin held the Diablos scoreless for the second inning in a row in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into overtime, Mexico City reliever Francisco Haro ran into immediate trouble in the top of the tenth by allowing a leadoff double to Juarez and then intentionally walking Charles to pitch to Jose Martinez, who then launched a 2-2 Haro delivery over the wall in left center for yet another three-run homer, this one giving the Leones the lead at 21-18. It was left to Rondon (the 16th pitcher to appear for the two teams) to hold the Diablos scoreless to save the win and tie the series at three games apiece. 

The combatants combined for 40 hits, including eight homers (two by Juarez, who finished 5-for-7 with six RBIs and four runs), as the game was halted by rain in the fourth inning Tuesday night and had to be completed Wednesday. Juan Carlos Gamboa drove in seven runs on a double and homer for Mexico City in their home loss, witnessed by 18,916 spectators.

The deciding Game Seven, which was delayed until Thursday night, when just 10,497 were in the stands as Yucatan completed their series comeback with a 7-5 win to advance to the Serie del Rey. Charles opened the scoring for the Leones in the top of the first with a two-run homer (his third of the series) off starter William Cuevas. Jesus Fabela sliced a leadoff single off Yucatan starter Henderson Alvarez in the bottom of the first, advanced to third on a pair of groundouts and then scored the Diablos’ first run on a Japhet Amador single. Martinez gave the Leones a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth with a leadoff homer off Cuevas, followed later by back-to-back doubles by Yadir Drake and Fuentes (the latter scoring Drake) and a Norberto Obeso groundout that brought in Fuentes from second thanks to a throwing error by Gamboa at short to give the Lions a 5-1 advantage.

To their credit, the Diablos Rojos did not lie down, scoring once in the fourth on a Gamboa single that scored Amador from third and then pushing three more runs across in the fifth to tie the game on a solo homer by Amador and a two-run bomb by Ramos, both with two out. Alvarez was able to record the third out but Yucatan manager Roberto Vizcarra, who returned to Merida on May 30 to replace Luis Matos at the helm two days after being fired in Saltillo, replaced the former big leaguer withLeyva in the sixth. Normally a starter, Leyva held scoreless for two innings before his teammates put the final two runs of the game on the scoreboard in the top of the eighth, when a Juarez double scored Obeso and Walter Ibarra to give Yucatan a 7-5 lead. Cervenka and Rondon each turned in a shutout inning to seal the win, which went to Leyva (his second of the series). Charles led the Leones offense with two hits, a homer and two RBIs while Amador was 3-for-4 on the night for Mexico City, driving in three runs, scoring twice and homering once.

ROJAS NEW MANAGER IN NAVOJOA

The Navojoa Mayos announced that Homar Rojas, fresh off a summer season that saw his Tijuana Toros post the best regular season in the Mexican League and reaching the LMB North Championship Series (a loss to Monterrey) will be their manager for the 2022-23 Mexican Pacific League season. He’ll replace Matias Carrillo as dugout boss for the Mayos, who finished with the top overall playoff seed in the LMP last winter with a 40-28 record before being knocked out by eventual LMP champion Culiacan in four straight games in January’s first round. Carrillo finished the Mexican League season as manager in Monclova and will presumably manage the Acereros’ defending Mexican Winter League champions in the coming months.

Rojas, 58, debuted as a professional player in 1982 with Monterrey in the summer circuit and went on to spend 23 seasons playing in both leagues, including Navojoa in 1996-97, hitting .248 over 44 games. He was a lifetime .291 hitter in the LMB, topping the .300 mark nine times, and was a solid defender behind the plate.

One year after retiring as a player, Rojas made his managerial debut in 2005 with Oaxaca. Later, he directed Liga teams in Reynosa, Campeche, Monclova, Aguascalientes and the last two years in Tijuana, winning the 2021 LMB pennant with the Toros. In 15 years managing in the LMB, Rojas has a 816-749 record and was named Manager of the Year in 2008 with Oaxaca and 2017 with Aguascalientes, two teams that historically have rarely been winners on the field or at the turnstiles.

Over the winters in the Mex Pac, Rojas has managed in Obregon, Hermosillo, Jalisco and Monterrey, while also serving as bench coach with Mazataán. He won LMP pennants with Obregon in 2007-08 and Hermosillo in 2009-10 and was named manager of the year in both 2006-07 and 2007-08 with the Yaquis. 

RODRIGO LOPEZ NEW GM FOR MEXICAN 2023 WBC TEAM

Mexican WBC GM Rodrigo Lopez

According to both the Mexican Baseball Federation (FEMEBE) and the Mexican League, former major league pitcher Rodrigo Lopez, who started three Opening Day games for Baltimore, was appointed General Manager of the Mexican National Team, which will play the World Baseball Classic in 2023.

Lopez played eleven seasons in the Major Leagues with the Orioles, San Diego, Colorado, Philadelphia, Arizona and the Chicago Cubs between 2000 and 2012. The former pitcher appeared in a total of 257 games, 215 as a starter, with a 4.82 ERA. In 2004 and 2005 he was eighth in the American League in wins both seasons with 14 and 15, respectively, and reached double figures in wins three times. However, the Mexico City area product also led the AL in losses in 2006 (18) as well as the NL with 16 setbacks for the Diamondbacks in 2010 and led each league in earned runs allowed both seasons.  

In 2013, Lopez started 15 games with the Liga’s Mexico City Diablos Rojos, going 4-3 with a 5.49 ERA, and was 13-13 with a 3.68 ERA in 38 outings over six winters for Culiacan in the Mexican Pacific League between 2008-09 and 2014-15 He started twice in the 2013 Caribbean Series and had a 0.66 ERA with no decisions.

Lopez is part of the Diamondbacks radio team as an analyst on their Spanish broadcasts so the Verdes Grande will play in a ballpark that he knows well, since at Chase Field they’ll play the first round of next year’s WBC against the United States, Colombia, Canada and one more national team to determine. Mexico played at Chase Field in two previous WBC tournaments.

To best face the international competition, Lopez will form a “multidisciplinary team, including advanced analytics and sports consulting personnel” according to a FEMEBE press release.The most recent outing by Mexico’s National Team at a professional level was their disastrous performance in last year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where the team lost to host Japan and the Dominican Republic in the first round before an embarrassing 15-2 knockout round defeat at the hands of Israel while also running afoul of Olympics officials after manager Benji Gil and several team members who’d played winterball for him in Culiacan had a picture taken of them wearing Tomateros apparel in violation of Olympic Village rules.

Mexico's best showing in a World Baseball Classic was at the inaugural event in 2006, where they played at Chase Field prior to eliminating the United States in Anaheim and took sixth place. At the most recent WBC in 2017, Mexico went 1-2 in Group D play at Guadalajara and just missed playing an extra game against Venezuela for second place after a tiebreaker ruling regarding an earlier loss to Italy went the way of the Italians, creating much controversy among the host team and their fans (who only came out 1,783 strong for Venezuela’s 4-3 win over Italy after an average of 14,058 had attended the previous six games).

TIJUANA, SULTANES ADVANCE TO LMB NORTH FINALS

Felix Perez, Monterrey Sultanes

It took them six games to do it, but the Tijuana Toros took one step closer to repeating as Mexican League pennant-winners by defeating 2020 champion Monclova in their Northern Division semifinal series. Tijuana clinched their 6-games-to-2 set victory last Friday with a 12-5 pounding of the Acereros at home before 17,193 fans in a jam-packed Estadio Nacional.

The Toros led 5-0 after two innings after Leander Castro’s two-run homer capped a three-run first against Monclova starter Eduardo Vera. Castro then rapped a bases-clearing double off Wilmer Rios, who came on in relief, in the second. Efren Navarro’s three-run roundtripper in the fourth off Ernesto Zaragosa, who took over for Rios, made it an 8-0 contest and TJ’s win was all but assured. 

The Acereros did score three runs in the sixth as 13-year LMB veteran Chris Roberson contributed an RBI single while former Cubs All-Star Addison Russell’s two-out homer in the eighth off Tijuana reliever Sam Dyson accounted for Monclova’s final two runs. Humberto Mejia got the win by pitching five innings of three-run ball while the loss went to Vera.

The Acereros had actually taken a 2-games-to-1 lead last Monday with an 11-7 win thanks to a six-run seventh featuring homers by Chris Carter and Keon Broxton after trailing 5-0 earlier in the tilt. Tijuana then won the next three games, starting with Tuesday’s 15-2 drubbing in Monclova as Junior Lake, Felix Perez and Castro each had three hits and three RBIs. Perez then clubbed two more homers one night later, driving in four runs in a 9-2 Toros win as a third straight sellout crowd of 8,500 looked on at Estadio Monclova, setting up Friday’s series-closing game in TJ.

Monterrey won the first two games of their LMB North semi set with Dos Laredos before dropping a 4-2 contest last Monday as Balbino Fuenmayor’s two run homer in the top of the 13th off Sultanes reliever Miguel Aguilar held up to give the Tecolotes their lone win before 15,062 onlookers at Estadio Monterrey. Tuesday’s starter Cristian Castillo gave Monterrey skipper Roberto Kelly five innings of one-run pitching while Orlando Calixte singled, doubled and scored twice in a 5-1 Sultanes win with 15,395 in the stands at home and Monterrey ended the division semi set on Wednesday with a solid 7-2 triumph with Zoilo Almonte’s RBI double in the second giving the Sultanes a 2-1 lead that they would never relinquish. The midweek date and a rain delay dropped attendance to 12,160 but co-owner Jose “Pepe” Maiz had to be happy with the three-game turnout exceeding 42,000 in Mexico’s largest ballpark.

The Sultanes and Toros were scheduled to open the LMB North championship series Monday night at Tijuana in what has become perhaps the most bitter rivalry in the Mexican League over the past few years. Monterrey owner Maiz (a firm believer in relying on homegrown talent) has taken deep exception to Toros owner Alberto Uribe and family paying large amounts of money to import foreign players to the border city, a sentiment the 1957 Little League World Series champion likely harbors towards Monclova’s similarly free-spending owner Gerardo Benavides.

Whatever the front office methodology, Tijuana and Monterrey finished 1-2 in the LMB attendance derby this year and it would surprise nobody if more than 50,000 fans attend the first four games of this series, which marks the sixth time in the Toros’ nine years of existence that they have met the Gray Ghosts in the postseason. Monterrey holds a 3-2 lead in that context but Tijuana’s LMB North title wins in 2016 and 2017 were what touched off the rivalry that transcends the playing field.

DIABLOS BASH PUEBLA, FACE YUCATAN FOR SOUTH TITLE

Julian Leon, Mexico City Diablos Rojos

The Mexico City Diablos Rojos won the Mexican League South Division regular season title in no small part to an offense that produced 7.3 runs per game (highest in the LMB) with a .320 team batting average, which ranked fourth in the circuit as the Red Devils were the only LMB South club among seven who topped the .300 mark. That the capital city congregation’s playoff hopes would sink or swim on the strength of their bats was a foregone conclusion, but Mexico City has put on a postseason fireworks that has been nothing short of awesome.

In sweeping both their first round and division semifinal series, the Diablos outscored Veracruz and Puebla by an aggregate 94-45 score, an average of 11.75 per game. The Aguilas were able to hold Mexico City to 8 and 4 runs over the final two games of their opening round set, but the Pericos allowed 57 runs (14.25 per game) during the Diablos’ broom job in their series. To their credit, Puebla averaged 7.5 runs in their division semi but when your pitchers allow 63 hits (including 13 homers) over four games, you’re not likely going to win many games.

The Diablos closed out their dominant series win last Wednesday by throttling the Pericos, 15-5, in Puebla. After a scoreless first inning, Mexico City torched Pericos starter Kurt Heyer and reliever Braulio Torres-Perez for nine runs on nine hits, including Julian Leon’s fourth homer of the series (a two-run bomb off Heyer) and a three-run shot by Juan Carlos Gamboa off Torres-Perez in the fourth. Danny Ortiz, who has hit 94 longballs in 265 games over three seasons in Puebla, captured the spirit of the thing with solo homers off starter William Cuevas in the fourth and reliever Edgar Torres in the sixth but the visitors were up 12-1 when the latter shot came and the outcome of both game and series were no longer in doubt.

After going 1-for-8 over the first two games against the Pericos, veteran slugger Japhet Amador went 7-for-9 (including a homer and a double) with five runs and five RBIs to finish the semis with a .477 average. The hottest bat, however, belonged to Diablos catcher Julian Leon. A 28-year-old former Dodgers and Angels minor leaguer, Leon followed up a decent but unremarkable regular season (.301 with 8 homers in 48 games) and an 0-for-7 performance over two games against Veracruz in the first round with a dominant series against Puebla, batting 10-for-18 (.556) with four homers, 13 RBIs and 6 runs.

It’s unlikely that Leon and the Diablos will match their output against Yucatan in the LMB South divisional finals. Since joining the Liga in 1954, the Leones have built their reputation on pitching and defense. Both were on prominent display in their series-ending 6-0 Game Five win over Quintana Roo last Thursday in Cancun. Starter Henderson Alvarez, a 2014 All-Star with Miami who led the National League with three shutouts that year, tossed a complete game shutout for the Leones, scattering five singles over nine innings, striking out five and walking none while his defense played errorless ball and turned a pair of double plays as he won his second game against the Tigres. Thirteen-year veteran catcher Luis Juarez socked a three-run homer in the top of the first and that was all Alvarez would need.

Alvarez won Game One as well, a 9-1 laugher on August 20 that featured a three-run homer by Art Charles. Game Two on August 21 was more of the same, with another Charles three-run blast keying a 5-4 win. The series shifted to Cancun for the next three games, starting with a homer-filled (8 HRs between the two teams) 11-8 Yucatan win last Tuesday in which the Leones were their own worst enemies, with the visitors batting 5-for-19 with runners in scoring position and leaving 13 runners on base. The Tigres showed some fight with a 6-4 Game Four win last Wednesday as Ramon Bramasco lined a dramatic two-run walkoff homer to right center off reliever Tim Peterson on a 1-2 count with two out for the triumph. A  former University of Washington shortstop, Bramasco hit one regular season homer for the Tigres after hitting no roundtrippers in three collegiate seasons. All three games at Cancun’s refurbished Estadio Beto Avila drew in excess of 9,000 fans, nearing the facility’s listed 9,500-seat capacity.

Like their counterparts to the north, the Diablos and Leones have a long history of facing each other over the past seven decades, albeit without the intensity that marks the Tijuana-Monterrey rivalry. Despite both clubs being in the Mexican League for so long, Mexico City and Yucatan have met only 12 times in the playoffs. Although the Diablos have a 7-5 overall advantage, the Leones have topped Mexico City twice (2019 and 2021) for the LMB South championship. This year’s South Division title set will open Tuesday night in Mexico City.

All division championship series games will be available via streaming. The Tijuana-Monterrey LMB North title set is being carried on various ESPN and Star+ channels while the Mexico City-Yucatan LMB South series can be watched on Fox Sports 2, Claro Sports, TUDN, AYM, ViX+, Azteca Deportes, and Sipse. Both series will be streamed live and on-demand on Jonron.TV, as will next month’s Serie del Rey between the two division champions.

ROBERTO OSUNA NOW PITCHING IN JAPANESE LEAGUES

Roberto Osuna, Chiba Lotte Marines

One pitcher who started the 2022 season strong for Mexico City but is not likely to pitch for the Diablos Rojos during the playoffs is former MLB All-Star closer Roberto Osuna.

A nephew of one-time reliever Antonio Osuna, who pitched in 411 games over 11 major league seasons between 1995 and 2005, the younger Osuna had established himself as one of the game’s top closers by averaging 31 saves over a five-year period, gaining an All-Star Game selection in 2014 with Toronto and leading the American League with 38 saves in 2019 for Houston, although a domestic violence charge that was settled out of court hastened his exit from Canada. 

However, the Sinaloa native came down with an elbow injury that erased his 2020 season after just four appearances and the Astros placed him on waivers following the campaign after he turned down Tommy John surgery in favor of a rest-and-rehab approach. After holding a showcase in the Dominican Republic the following March but receiving no offers from an MLB team as a free agent, Osuna then signed with the Diablos Rojos two months later. He spent the rest of the abbreviated 2021 Mexican League season in Mexico City, going 3-0 with 12 saves in 24 appearances and turning in a 1.09 ERA (striking out 27 batters with just three walks in 24.2 innings).

After spending the winter pitching for his hometown Jalisco Charros in the Mexican Pacific League (5-2/11 saves/1.26 ERA in 28 appearances) and making four scoreless outings in the Caribbean Series, Osuna was back in Diablos Rojos togs this season. He got off to a hot start for the Red Devils and was 2-0 with six saves and a 1.35 ERA after his first 12 appearances when he got a call from Japan’s Chiba Lotte Mariners of NPB’s Pacific League and signed a contract with the team on June 11. Terms were not available.

Osuna, who turned 27 in February, has since pitched for both the Marines’ Eastern League affiliate, giving up a pair of runs over three innings in as many relief appearances, but has spent most of the past ten weeks with the big club, where’s he’s been teammates with Mexican National Team member Brandon Laird, former Rangers center fielder Leonys Martin and one-time Marlins infielder Adeiny Hechavarria. 

After 20 games out of the bullpen for the Marines (who are fifth in the Pacific League with a 56-59 record), Osuna is 3-0 with five saves, nine holds and a 0.90 ERA. Continuing to exhibit the pinpoint control he showed in Mexico City, the righty has struck out 23 NPB batters and issued just two walks over 20 innings pitched. The NPB regular season lasts into the first week of October, meaning Osuna’s return to the Diablos Rojos for the playoffs is highly unlikely.

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.

LMB DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS OPEN; LISTACH FIRED

    The Mexican League's final four field was set after Mexico City eliminated Veracruz last Monday night and Guadalajara knocked out surprising Aguascalientes one night later, setting up both Division Championship Series. In the LMB North, the top-seed Mariachis are facing second-place Tijuana while the regular season champion Diablos Rojos take on third-seed Yucatan in the LMB South Championship Series.

    The following is a wrap of the first two games of both LCS, in which both underdogs took a pair of road games over the weekend, as well as the clinching games for the respective division semifinals plus the firing of the defending champion's manager:

TIJUANA LEADS GUADALAJARA, 2 GAMES TO 0

Ricky Alvarez, Tijuana Toros

    The LMB North Championship Series began last Friday, when visiting Tijuana held off Guadalajara, 4-3. The Mariachis were nursing a 2-1 leading going into the top of the sixth inning, when Tijuana pushed three runs across the plate as Xavier Carrillo's two-run single provided the go-ahead run and Leandro Castro added an RBI single. LMB batting champion Leo Heras clubbed a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth to narrow the Toros' lead to 4-3 but ex-MLBers Oliver Perez, Michael Tonkin and Fernando Rodney pitched shutout ball over the final three innings. Rodney struck out three batters in the ninth for the save as the Mariachis ended the game batting 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Veteran Luis Alfonso Cruz' two singles for Tijuana made him the only player on either side with more than one hit.

    Tijuana made it two wins away from home on Saturday with an 11-9 triumph at Estadio Panamericano. The game was a scoreless tie until Guadalajara scored five runs in the bottom of the third (with Heras contributing a two-run single) and the Mariachis held an 8-5 lead through six innings. The roof caved in for the home team in the top of the seventh, when the Toros scored five runs on four hits (including a two-run single from Efren Navarro) plus four walks to take a 10-8 lead. Each team scored once the rest of the way but Rodney earned his second save in as many nights by pitching the final 1.1 innings, allowing one walk. Ricky Alvarez went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer for the Toros while Heras and Anthony Garcia went deep for the Mariachis. After Sunday's travel day, Game Three is tonight in Tijuana.

    The Mariachis advanced to the division finals last Tuesday by bopping Aguascalientes, 10-3, at home to clich the series, 4 games to 2. Guadalajara scored five times in the bottom of the second (sending 11 batters to the plate in a half-inning that saw four hits, two walks, an error, a hit bastman and a wild pitch) to chase Rieleros starter Ernesto Zaragosa after Carlos Mendivil's two-run single.

YUCATAN LEADS MEXICO CITY, 2 GAME TO 0

Luis Juarez, Yucatan Leones

    Yucatan is traditionally not a high-scoring team, but they put 13 runs on the scoreboard while winning the first two games of the LMB South title seres in Mexico City. Friday's opener at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu was a 7-6 Leones win, as the visitors scored six third-inning runs to reverse a 3-1 deficit into a 7-3 lead and then held on the rest of the way. Luis Juarez stroked a three-run double in the top of the third as Yucatan starter Yoanner Negrin overcame a shaky first in which he let in three Diablos Rojos runs to toss shutout ball until he was pulled with two out in the sixth. Diablos starter J.C. Ramirez was sent to the showers after failing to record an out in the Leones' third-inning outburst. Alex Liddi hit a solo homer for the winners while Mexico City's Emmanuel Avila wnt 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

    Saturday's Game Two saw the team from Merida pull out another win, this time by a 6-4 count. The contest was tied a 1-1 going into the top of the fifth, when Juarez punched a two-out double off Mexico City reliever Arquimedes Caminero to score Yadir Drake and give the Leones a 2-1 advantage. Walter Ibarra's two-run single in the sixth made it a 4-1 Yucatan lead and the visitors never looked back, although the Diablos did score three more runs the rest of the way. Leones starter Rhadames Liz earned the win by allowing two runs on two hits over 6.2 innings of work, striking out five Diablos. Juarez went 5-for-5 with two ribbies for the night. Avila sliced a pair of doubles for Mexico City, scoring once. Game Three is scheduled for Monday night in Merida's Parque Kukulkan.

    The Diablos punched their ticket to the division championships last Monday by taking a 5-2 win in Veracruz to close their second round series, 4 games to 1. The Aguilas led, 1-0, until Jesus Fabela's two-run single in the top of the fourth gave Mexico City a 2-1 advantage. Juan Carlos Gamboa later hit a solo homer and Luis Sardinas added a two-run homer for the winners as Red Devils starter Hector Hernandez allowed one earned run on three hits over five innings for the win.

    Meanwhile, Pat Listach has been fired as manager of the Monclova Acereros on the heels of their second round playoff loss to Tijuana in five games following a fourth-place regular season finish in the LMB North with a 35-31 record. Listach had led Monclova to the city's lone Mexican League pennant in 2019, posting a Liga-best 75-45 season record before copping the flag by winning three postseason series that all required a seventh game to decide. The Acereros made the standard-issue announcement “thanking” Listach for his “professionalism” and “wishing him the best in his future projects,” comments that accompany every fired Mexican baseball manager on his way to the unemployment line.

GENERALES SOLD TO VENEZUELAN ENTREPRENEUR

Generales owner Carlos Lazo (l)

  The sale of one Mexican League team was approved at an Assembly of Presidents meeting earlier this month while a rumor has surfaced that a pair of current LMB owners are interested in buying another club and moving it to their hometown on the Pacific coast.

    The sale of the Durango Generales by Juan Carlos Martinez to Venezuelan entrepreneur Carlos Lazo was given the owners' stamp of approval at a meeting headed by LMB president Horacio de la Vega and board of directors head Gerardo Benavides, owner of the Monclova Acereros.

    Lazo was born in Venezuela in 1971 but the 49-year-old has lived in Mexico the past 13 years and currently resides in Guadalajara. Holder of a college degree in Economics, Lazo is founder and CEO of 17 different companies, 16 in Mexico and one in Panama. This is not his first venture in sports. Four months ago, Lazo purchased 50 percent of the Queretaro Libertadores of Mexico's National Professional Basketball League (after having sponsored the Jalisco Astros of Guadalajara) and his Upick Sports company became the NHL's first Mexican team sponsor with the Vegas Golden Knights. He is purchasing 100 percent of the Generales franchise.

    Out 27 columnist David Braverman notes that this will be the third time the Generales have changed hands since Virgilio Ruiz moved the team from Carmen following the 2016 season. The Ruiz era in Durango was dogged with financial and operational problems almost from the outset and after two years, the Generales were one of four Liga franchises granted a year off in 2019 to get their house in order. However, Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ordered the LMB to restore the quartet to active status and the team played on. By then, a group headed by former MLB catcher and current Mexico City manager Miguel Ojeda had bought the team from Ruiz and operated it for the 2018 season before selling out to businessman Alfredo Aramburo.

Estadio Domingo Santana, Durango

    The Generales turned in a 46-72 record and drew 180,250 fans (about 3,000 per game) to Estadio Domingo Santana in 2019 while Aramburo had nothing but trouble with his fellow owners and then-LMB president Javier Salinas, who never fully ratified him as owner. Once he had a chance to own a Mexican Pacific League expansion team in Guasave, as mandated by political ally Lopez Obrador, Aramburo sold his Durango team to Martinez. Despite a first season being canceled due to the pandemic and a last-place finish with attendance dipping to 836 per opening, The El Siglio newspaper says Martinez (who will be running for governor of Durango) gave assurances that incoming owner Lazo will keep the Generales in the capital city. Braverman says that “according to reliable sources,” Martinez had not paid Aramburo the full amount of his purchase price for the team.

    Braverman adds that the Aguascalientes Rieleros may be getting ready for a sale. The Railroaders are owned by the Aguascalientes state government and operated by team president Eustacio Alvarez, a former mayoral candidate for Ciudad Aguascalientes who the columnist says is not a baseball fan but is mainly fulfilling an appointment by former governor Armado Medina. The Railroaders have been for sale several years, but Braverman says he's been told that the current owners of the Yucatan Leones (brothers Erick and Juan Jose Arellano) have presented an offer to buy the team, which they would then move to their hometown of Mazatlan and rename the Marineros.

    Braverman is well-connected in the Mexican baseball community, but this is something that was also rumored when the Arellanos owned the Laguna Vaqueros for the 2016 and 2017 seasons down to the Mazatlan Marineros name. Instead, the team was sold prior to the 2018 campaign. Aguascalientes is no more stable than Laguna was, raising the question of why the brothers would go through a similar set of frustrations a second time?

MLB, CBPC COME TO TERMS FOR WINTERBALL IN 2021-22

Estadio Quisqueya, Santo Domingo

    According to the El Fildeo website, Major League Baseball and the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation have agreed on the terms for the new agreement for the 2021-2022 winter league season.

    According to a report by Enrique Rojas of ESPN, MLB and the CBPC have agreed on the parameters of a new "Winter Leagues Agreement," but the agreement will not be finalized until Tony Clark, executive director of the MLB Players Association, approves it.

    The winterball agreement is a document that regulates relations between organized baseball in the United States and the various independent Caribbean circuits. The last one expired almost two years ago but was renewed by the parties to cover the 2020-21 season, as they negotiated amid the coranavirus pandemic.

    The winter seasons for leagues in Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Venezuela will be played between October and January and the champions of each circuit will face each other in the 64^th edition of the Caribbean Series between January 28 and February 5 next year, scheduled to be held at Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic.

    However, leagues in both Panama and Colombia, which have participated in recent Caribbean Series as special guests, are not part of the agreement between MLB and the CBPC, although an August 27 story in Santo Domingo's El Diario Nuevo mentioned the two nations as expected entries along with regulars Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and host Dominican Republic.

 

Juan Francisco Puello, CBPC

   Panama was enlisted as emergency host of the 2019 Serie del Caribe on late notice and ended up being the surprise winner after the planned tournament in Venezuela was scrubbed weeks before it was to be held due to political and economic unrest. Colombia was invited late to the 2020 event after Cuba declined to play due to stated visa concerns traveling to San Juan, Puerto Rico that year.

    Cuba was subsequently suspended from participating in the Caribbean Series indefinitely by CBPC president Juan Francisco Puello, who cited a desire to see human rights improvements in the communist nation, which returned to the event (which they co-founded in 1949) on a conditional basis in 2014 after an absence of 53 years.

TJ, YUCATAN WIN SETS, BERTHS IN DIVISION FINALS

Tijuana DH Gabriel Gutierrez

    Two of the Mexican League's four Division Semifinal playoff series are in the books and two of the eight participating teams have punched their tickets to their respective Division Championship Series, which will commence later this week.

    Tijuana knocked defending champion Monclova out of a chance for a repeat by defeating the Acereros in five games in their LMB North series while Yucatan eliminated a plucky Tabasco club in the LMB South, also in five games. Aguascalientes and Veracruz stayed alive in their respective series with wins Sunday. After Monday's travel day, Game Sixes will be played Tuesday night in Guadalajara and Mexico City with deciding Game Sevens (if needed) slated for both cities.

    Here's a recap of all Division Semis games through the weekend:

TIJUANA defeats MONCLOVA, 4 games to 1

    Tijuana opened their LMB North semifinal series by doubling up on Monclova, 10-5, last Tuesday at home. Gabriel Gutierrez stroked a two-run homer off Acereros starter Hector Velazquez to key a five-run Toros first inning as Joe van Meter took the win by pitching six innings of two-run ball. TJ followed up with a 4-3 Wednesday triumph with Gutierrez' two-run single in a three-run Toros sixth overcame a 3-1 deficit. Fernando Rodney earned the save b striking out three Steelers batsmen in the ninth.

    The series then shifted to Monclova for the next three games, starting with a 5-4 Toros victory on Friday night. Addison Russell belted two homers for the defending champs but it was Isaac Rodriguez' run on a Leandro Castro sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth that provided the deciding run. Rodney tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to earn another save, striking out Russell swinging to end the game. The Acereros staved off elimination Saturday by topping the Toros, 5-3, with Chris Carter's two-two homer and Russell's single, triple and two RBIs providing Monclova starter Wilmer Rios (5.1IP, 3R) with enough support for the win.

    Tijuana closed out the series Sunday with a 10-3 win that was actually closer than the score indicates as Monclova held a 3-1 lead through six innings before the Toros scored nine times the rest of the game to pull away. Rodriguez had three hits with a run and RBI for the winners while Gutierrez went 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Carter and Ricky Rodriguez homered for the Acereros.

GUADALAJARA leads AGUASCALIENTES, 3 games to 2

    LMB North top seed Guadalajara took another step toward in the Division Championship Series by opening their series with a 14-7 home win over Aguascalientes last Tuesday. The Mariachis collected 20 hits off Rieleros pitching and scored in seven straight innings as Niko Vasquez went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and five RBIs on the night while Jesse Castillo was 4-for-4 with a roundtripper. The hit parade continued Wednesday in Guadalajara's 8-7 win as all nine Mariachis batters had at least one safety, but it took an Anthony Garcia double and a walkoff RBI single by Issmael Salas in the ninth to secure the victory. Garcia had belted a two-run homer in the second for the Jalisco squad.

    Aguascalientes hosted the next three games over the weekend, including a 9-6 Guadalajara win on Friday night. Salas and Adrian Gonzalez went deep for the winners but Luis Sardinas' leadoff longball in the top of the seventh proved the game-winner by breaking a 6-6 tie. Michael Wing and Francisco Cordoba both homered for the Railroaders, who delayed being knocked out in four straight games by holding off Guadalajara, 9-7, on Saturday. Henry Rodriguez singled, doubled and drove in two runs for victors while Aldo Florez socked a two-run homer to counteract Gonzalez' game for the Mariachis as El Titan was 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs. The Rieleros won their second game in a row Sunday, scoring six times in the bottom of the first and holding on for a 9-6 victory. Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer in the sixth, but it was Felix' three-run double that was the key hit in that big first frame.

YUCATAN defeats TABASCO, 4 games to 1

Yucatan RHP Jake Thompson

    After defeating Veracruz in the first round, Tabasco has found things tougher against Yucatan in their Division Semifinal set. The Olmecas got off to a good start at home last Tuesday with a 7-6 win in ten innings. Pinch-hitter Rudy Amador singled in Ronnier Mustelier with the walkoff game-winner as Mustelier finished the contest with three hits. Alex Liddi rapped a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to knot the game up at 6-6. The Leones roared back on Wednesday with a 3-0 shutout. Yoanner Negrin tossed seven frames of three-hit ball and Josh Lueke nailed down the save as Walker Ibarra singled, doubled and scored twice for Yucatan.

    The Leones took the series lead after the set moved to Merida, beginning with a 4-2 win over 12 innings on Friday. Luis Juarez' two-run walkoff homer was the deciding blow off Nicolas Heredia in a game that saw 13 pitching changes for the two team and lasted seven minutes shy of five hours. Yucatan won their third straight on Saturday, 5-1, with a strong outing by starter Jake Thompson. The former Phillies hurler gave up one run on five hits in six innings, striking out seven Tabasco hitters and walking none. Humberto Sosa's three-run bomb of Ignacio Merrujo broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fourth.

    Yucatan clinched the series with a 3-0 shutout on Sunday. Casey Harman held the Olmecas scoreless through the first seven frames while Lueke picked up another save. Jorge Flores had a pair of hits and drove in a run for the Lions, but the story of the game (and series was) Yucatan's pitching, which allowed just runs over four games after allowing seven in the opener.

MEXICO CITY leads VERACRUZ, 3 games to 1

    Mexico City is seeking their first LMB pennant since 2014 (and the 17th flag in their 82-year history) and they're looking like a good bet to at least reach the Serie del Rey under manager Miguel Ojeda, who was the helmsman for their most recent title team. After finishing first in the LMB South during the regular season and knocking off Quintana Roo in the opening playoff round, the Diablos dispatched lucky loser Veracruz in the first three games of their series. The Red Devils opened the set at home last Tuesday with a 9-3 win behind Jon Singleton's three-run homer and a 3-for-3 night from Carlos Figueroa. Singleton had a game to tell his grandchildren about during Wednesday's 14-9 victory over the Aguilas, belting two homers and a double to drive in five runs and score five times. Paolo Orlando homered for Veracruz while Yasiel Puig had three hits and three RBIs.

    A Friday rainout in Veracruz delayed Game Three until Saturday, when Mexico City blanked the Aguilas, 2-0. Luis Rodriguez (6 innings) combined with three relievers on a six-hitter as Roberto Osuna notched the save. The Diablos opened the scoring in the top of the second when Emmanuel Avila scored from third on a Figueroa fielder's choice grounder and made it 2-0 in the fifth when Jesus Fabela motored in on a Kodai Hamaya wild pitch. Veracruz avoided being swept Sunday by being on the positive end of a 2-0 shutout when Ryan Verdugo (who'd been roughed up in Wednesday's loss) delivered seven entradas of one-hit pitching, the lone Diablos safety off the one-time Royals hurler being a first-inning single by Omar Meza. Alexei Amarista's two-run double contributed to a three-run frame against reliever Sasagi Sanchez that broke open a scoreless tilt after Arturo Lopez had pitched six shutout innings for the Diablos.

MEXICAN LEAGUE ATTENDANCE DIPS FROM 2019 TOTALS 

Estadio Nacional, Tijuana

   Overall attendance in the Mexican League unsurprisingly nosedived in 2021 from the loop's last season in 2019 after the LMB played a shortened schedule this year. After drawing a total of 4,618,162 aficionados through the gates over 945 openings two years ago, the Liga's 18 teams (including two expansion franchises) witnessed 1,446,929 turnstile clicks this summer over 581 openings. That reflects a decline of 3,172,233 (or 68.7 percent) at the gate.

    On the one hand, the drop-off was expected after the circuit opened play late in May and scheduled only 66 games per team after playing a 120-game schedule. Of greater concern, however, is the steep decline in average attendance at LMB games. After averaging 4,886 spectators in 2019, according to figures posted on both the Baseball-Reference and Stats Crew websites, Liga teams averaged just 2,490 ticket-buyers per contest this year (a drop of 2,396 per game, or 49 percent).

    To be fair, the Wuhan virus has created economic chaos across Mexico as well as levels of safety protocols that vary from city to city among the LMB's 18 teams. Regardless of the causes of decline, however, there's no denying that attendance averages of fewer than 1,000 per game in Durango, Oaxaca and Campeche are cause for alarm while five more franchises drew fewer than 2,000 and eleven clubs in all were below 3,000 per game. 

Estadio Nelson Barrera, Campeche

    Those would not be sustainable numbers for a AAA league north of the border and those teams have players whose salaries are subsidized by their Major League Baseball parent clubs. In both of Mexico's professional leagues, all expenses are the responsibility of each individual team and while the winter Mexican Pacific League has historically outdrawn every minor league in North America by a fairly wide margin, the LMB has always had a majority of teams that annually struggle to make ends meet. State subsidies have subsidized a number of Liga teams over the years, but it's hard to imagine the Campeche Piratas being given enough taxpayer pesos to cover shortfalls after drawing only 755 fans per game to Estadio Nelson Barrrera.

    The Tijuana Toros led the Mexican League with 196,471 fans over 33 home games for an average of 5,954, well ahead of second-place Monterrey, who pulled in 4,657 per game for a total of 149,011 despite missing the playoffs. In all, seven teams averaged over 3,000 per game.

2021 MEXICAN LEAGUE ATTENDANCE TOTALS (AVERAGES)
Tijuana 196,471 (5,954), Monterrey 149,011 (4,657), Mexico City 111,188 (3,369), Yucatan 109,895 (3,330), Monclova 109,447 (3,316), Saltillo 108,913 (3,300), Union Laguna 107,319 (3,252), Dos Laredos 85,437 (2,589), Leon 70,869 (2,148), Veracruz 65,900 (1,997), Guadalajara 61,652 (1,868), Puebla 58,175 (2,006), Quintana Roo 53,146 (1,661), Tabasco 51,189 (1,551), Aguascalientes 29,860 (1,066), Durango 27,587 (836), Oaxaca 27,451 (858), Campeche 2,413 (755). TOTAL: 1,446,929 (2,490).

SULTANES TRADE WING TO OBREGON IN MEXPAC DEAL

New Obregon 3B Michael Wing

    As the Mexican League enters the final weeks of its 2021 season, Mexican Pacific League teams have been making deals in preparation for their upcoming 2021-22 schedule. One of the most notable player swaps of the past month saw the Monterrey Sultanes send third baseman Michael Wing to Obregon for right-handed pitcher Nathanael Santiago and infield prospect Juan Mora.

    After playing in the Angels and Padres organizations between 2007 and 2012, the 31-year-old Wing spent four years of independent ball in both the Frontier League and American Association before coming south of the border in 2017 to play with Aguascalientes of the Mexican League. The Pasadena, California native has never hit below .341 for the Rieleros since, belting 60 homers and driving in 255 runs over 267 LMB contests (including a .345 mark with nine homers and 44 ribbies over 50 games this summer). 

    Wing has also played three seasons in the LMP, batting .266 with 15 homers and 53 RBIs in 133 games for Los Mochis, Monterrey and Culiacan (for whom he hit .305 with eight homers in 44 games after being loaned by the Sultanes last winter). In 14 seasons at all levels of minor league ball, Wing has a .296 career average with 133 homers and 676 RBIs over 1,046 games. 

New Monterrey RHP Nathanael Santiago

   Santiago comes to Monterrey on the heels of a 1-0 season with Obregon last winter as a situational reliever, turning in a 3.09 ERA over 11.2 innings in 12 games for the Yaquis. The 31-year-old broke into minor league ball as a 25-year-old spending the 2015 in the Giants organization before debuting with Mexico City of the Mexican League in 2016. In four seasons with the Diablos, Santiago has gone 8-6 with 36 saves and a 3.24 ERA in 149 games. In five winters in the LMP (the last four in Obregon), he has a 5-6 record and a 2.89 ERA in 89 appearances, mostly as a middleman.

    The 21-year-old Mora plays second and third base in the Chicago Cubs system and is currently wearing pitchers out in the rookie Arizona Complex League, batting .395 with a homer and five stolen bases over 18 games for the Cubs' Rookie-level team after spending 2018 and 2019 with Chicago's Dominican Summer League squad. Mora hit .136 for Obregon in nine games last winter.