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.

OAXACA WINS PLAY-IN GAME; PLAYOFFS OPEN MONDAY

Oaxaca OF Yordanys Linares returns to dugout

The playoff matchups for the Mexican League's fall season have been set after the Oaxaca Guerreros took a 26-30 record and a fifth-place South Division finish to Leon for a wild-card came (necessitated by the Guerreros finishing one game behind the Bravos in the standings) and beat the 26-28 Bravos by a 7-6 score to slip into the Liga's final remaining postseason berth.

It was a disappointing finish to the year for the Bravos, who had led the LMB South in recent weeks despite a makeshift infield and seemed in position to continue playing after the regular season ended.  Instead, Leon will be sitting out the playoffs while Oaxaca celebrates their first postseason appearance since 2015.  It almost didn't turn out that way for the Guerreros, who fell behind 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning Saturday after the Bravos' Marco Jaime singled in Felix Pie and Michael Bernal off Oaxaca starter Jose Carlos Medina.

The Guerreros fought back with three runs in the top of the fourth when Jay Austin stroked a leadoff double and scored on a Dustin Geiger single, after which Henry Urrutia belted a homer to right against Leon opener Guillermo Moscoso to give the visitors a 3-2 advantage.  Moscoso settled down to retire the side and post two more scoreless frames before his Bravos teammates came back in the bottom of the sixth.  A Pie solo homer to tie the contest was followed by Medina's exit from the mound in favor of reliever Carlos Felix.  Bernal then greeted Felix with a double, moved to third on a Geiger fielding error of a Brandon Macia grounder, then came in to put Leon ahead, 4-3, on Israel Nunez' infield single.

Leon manager Luis Rivera sent former Oaxaca All-Star Alejandro Soto to the mound for the top of the seventh, a move that immediately backfired when Soto served up a leadoff homer to Julian Ornelas that knotted the game back up.  The score stood at 4-4 until the top of the ninth, when the Guerreros put three runs on the scoreboard off Bravos closer Joe Colon.  Yordanys Linares put Oaxaca ahead for good by whacking a two-run double off Colon with two out and then plated the Guerreros' final run on an Austin single.

The Bravos battled gamely in the bottom of the ninth.  Jaime singled in Antonio Ruiz after Ruiz had been waved to second on a balk called against Oaxaca pitcher Scott Shuman, a call that brought Shuman down from the mound and Guerreros manager Sergio Gastelum out of the dugout for a calm discussion with the umpires that led to Shuman and Gastelum both being elected (Jaime's single came off Ozzie Mendez).  Eduardo Arredondo then hit a fielder's choice grounder to first that got Jaime called out at second for the first out of the inning.  Arredondo was replaced by pinch-runner Luis Medina, who advanced to third on a Quincy Latimore single and scored on a Cedric Hunter sacrifice fly to center to bring Leon to within a run, but the game (and season) ended when Erick Casillas was brought in from the bullpen to replace Mendez and struck out Niko Vasquez swinging to send the Bravos and 3,489 in the stands at Parque Domingo Santana home wondering what might have been.

The wild finish climaxed a fall schedule in which the placement of teams in the LMB South remained in doubt until the final days.  Defending champion Yucatan (32-24) slipped into first place on the final day of the regular season Thursday when the Leones took a 7-4 win at Quintana Roo while Leon outlasted Mexico City (31-24) by a 9-8 count on Latimore's RBI single in the bottom of the tenth.  Puebla slipped down the stretch by dropping all three games of a series at Oaxaca to come in third at 29-27, two games ahead of Leon and three up on Oaxaca.

The LMB North playoff field had already been determined heading into last week's final series, but three more games were required for seeding purposes.  While Monclova (42-14) easily won the division, Tijuana (35-21) had to win seven of their last ten games to come in second by a game-and-a-half over Monterrey (34-23) while Dos Laredos (33-24) ended up in fourth after losing 10-5 in Monclova Thursday while the Sultanes prevailed in a 10-9 slugfest that took 12 innings to complete in Tijuana to break a deadlock with the Tecos for third.  Unlike Oaxaca in the South, fifth-place Aguascalientes (25-30) was too far behind Dos Laredos to force a wild-card game.

With the regular season in the taillights, the playoffs will open with four games Monday night.  Puebla will be at Mexico City for one LMB South semifinal while Oaxaca visits Yucatan to open the other.  Monterrey hosts Tijuana in a North semi series and Monclova will open at home against Dos Laredos.  All playoff series will be best-of-7 affairs throughout the postseason.


CAMPECHE'S ROSARIO OVERTAKES BETANCOURT FOR BAT CROWN

Fall bat champion Olmo Rosario of Campeche

It's been a tough couple years for Campeche Piratas outfielder Olmo Rosario.  The 38-year-old Dominican received a 50-game suspension prior to the 2017 season after testing for amphetamines during the previous year, leading to his release from the Tijuana Toros.  Rosario eventually signed with Leon in late May 2017 but was released by the Bravos three weeks later after batting just .174 over 13 games.  He was picked up by Campeche almost another three weeks and went on to hit .378 with five homers in 30 games, good enough to be brought back for another year in the Walled City.

Rosario turned in a good Spring season for the Piratas, hitting .319 with nine homers in 56 games, but he really stepped things up in the Fall campaign to win the Mexican League batting championship with a .408 average.  Rosario finished the season with a 14-game hitting streak (including a .600 average over his final ten games) to bring his season average up 48 points from .360 on August 19 to sneak past Oaxaca's Yuniesky Betancourt's .406.  Betancourt was hitting .417 on September 1 but collected just six hits over his final five games to drop into second in the batting race.  Yelson Asencio of Mexico City came in a distant third at .386.

Felix Perez of Monclova belted two homers last Thursday in the Acereros' final game against Tijuana to finish with 19 longballs over 55 games to win his second consecutive home run title after sending 15 balls to the street in Spring to lead the LMB.  Perez finished ahead of Oaxaca's Dustin Geiger (15) and Leandro Castro of Saltillo (14).  Both Perez and Geiger were traded in the Fall midseason while Castro was signed by the Saraperos as a free agent in May a month after being released by Dos Laredos.  Perez tied with teammate Francisco Peguero for the Liga RBI title with 60 apiece (Puebla's Delmon Young was third with 56 ribbies) while Dos Laredos' Johnny Davis stole 28 bases in 34 attempts to beat out Monclova's Cade Gotta (25) and Tony Campana (24) of Aguascalientes in that category.

Brazilian Andre Rienzo pitched one scoreless inning in relief for Monclova last Tuesday against Dos Laredos to finish the season with a 0.76 ERA, easily the lowest among qualifiers in the loop.  Acereros manager Pedro Mere only brought Rienzo out of the bullpen twice since his last start on August 26 against Aguascalientes to rest the 30-year-old righty for the playoffs.  Terance Marin of Dos Laredos finished second to Rienzo with a 2.12 ERA while Aguascalientes' Francisco Del Rosario was third at 2.24.

Marin returned to organized baseball after pitching in Taiwan in 2017 and finished the LMB's Fall season on a high note by winning five of his last six starts to tie with Monterrey's Edgar Gonzalez and Patrick Johnson for most wins with seven each.  Gonzalez will be well-rested for the playoffs after not having pitched since a September 4 victory at Durango while Johnson has been held out since a September 2 loss at Puebla.  Seven more pitchers finished with six wins.

Orlando Lara of Campeche (who himself hasn't pitched since September 1) took his first strikeout title with 64 in 61.1 innings to record the most ponchadas among Liga hurlers, with Monterrey's Jose De Paula (61) finishing second while Leon's Guillermo Moscoso and Enrique Oquendo (58) tied for third.  Wirfin Obispo on Monterrey only pitched once in relief last week and even though he didn't record a save, the Sultanes closer ended the calendar with 14, enough to lead the LMB.  Joe Colon (Leon), Chad Gausin (Yucatan) and Josh Lueke (Monclova) each had eleven saves to tie for second.

The Tijuana Toros led the Mexican League attendance with 252,668 fans attending 27 home games for an average of 9,358, which was higher than any full-season Class AAA team north of the border (Charlotte of the International League was next at 8,980).  Monterrey was second in the LMB with an average of 7,616 while Yucatan came in third at 6,985 but the Fall schedule was not kind to most Liga teams at the turnstiles.  Seven of the LMB's 16 teams drew fewer than 3,000 people per opening, with Campeche's 855 average bringing up the rear and Tabasco not a lot better at 1,151 per night.


LMB TO DROP TWO-SEASON FORMAT, TUESDAY GAMES IN 2019

Although a press release from the Mexican League last week has termed their two-seasons-in-one-year experiment a "success," apparently it wasn't successful enough as a format to keep around for a second year.  The LMB announced it will abandon this year's approach of two separate 57-game regular seasons with full playoffs starting in late March and finishing in October to return to a single-season format.  However, as often seems the case with the Liga, it won't come without complications.

On the surface, the move seems a wise one.  The LMB will play two halves for a total of 120 games per team for the regular season.  Similar to other leagues in Mexico, teams will be awarded points on the basis of where they finish in the standings each half, with the accrued totals determining playoff seeding. The number of games will be most since the Mexican League played a 120-game schedule in 2001 but since Minor League Baseball's two other Class AAA leagues had 140-game schedules this year, the six-game increase is not a big deal (especially with a month's worth of playoff games being eliminated).  However, the LMB Assembly of Presidents' decision to drop Tuesday as a game day south of the border is going to have far-reaching consequences.

Mondays have been travel days for years in Mexican baseball and that will not change.  However, the Liga has decided to create a second consecutive off-day each week before teams play between Wednesdays and Sundays, starting with a two-game series and concluding with a three-game set.  The result will be tighter travel schedules, more days during the season when ballparks are closed and a schedule stretching from March into November, which is when the playoffs will conclude.  Even the playoff format will be expanded from the current eight teams to twelve participants, with the top two finishers in each division getting a first-round bye while the next four teams battle it out to advance to the division semifinals (effectively adding another layer to the playoff format to make it a four-tiered process to win a pennant).

The moves appear to be a shot across the bow of the winter Mexican Pacific League, whose season traditionally begins in mid-October.  The LMP has already had to scramble for players to begin their upcoming 2018-19 season because the current Mexican League playoff system stretches into October, with the MexPac increasing the number of foreign players allowed per team from six to 12 this winter.  Next year's Mexican League playoff format would stretch about a full month into the LMP's season, severely curtailing the availability of domestic talent for the winter circuit.  Some observers believe the extended Mexican League season in 2019 is in response to the MexPac seeking to expand into current LMB markets, such as Monterrey and Tijuana.  The latter has had winterball teams in the past, but none were long-lasting.  In fact, the former Tijuana Potros hold a rather unenviable distinction of twice winning pennants (1987-88 and 1990-91) but not being allowed to compete the following winter due to what was termed "unfair competitive practices."  Following their second DQ, Tijuana joined the financially-troubled Guaymas Ostioneros and left the MexPac, leaving the league with an eight-team lineup ever since.

As always, the most affected people with the Liga's reformatting may be the players, who have never unionized and enjoy few rights in Mexican baseball.  In a country where the per capita income is generally between US$10,000-14,000 per year (depending on your source), many players perform year round because jobs that can bring in US$3,000-5,000 per month are very far and few between.  The new LBM format could seriously curtail a player's availability to continue earning money between November and February, especially if Liga teams (who own a player's rights in Mexico) decide to make a player unavailable for winterball because of "exhaustion," something often used by Major League Baseball organizations for their minor league players.

No official response has come out of the Mexican Pacific League's new offices in Guadalajara but it's hard to imagine LMP president Omar Canizales doing nothing.  We shall see.

Blackley, Pericos shut out Tijuana for LMB flag

Travis Blackley tossed eight shutout innings and Chad Gaudin closed out both the game and season as the Puebla Pericos defeated Tijuana, 2-0, Wednesday night in TJ to win the Mexican League Championship Series and claim Puebla's fifth LMB pennant.  A packed house of 17,893 was on hand at Estadio Gasmart to witness Game Six of the Serie del Rey.

Blackley, a former major league hurler from Australia, only allowed singles by Dustin Martin and Roberto Lopez while striking out six and walking two to post his third playoff win of 2016.  He was named Playoff MVP by the Liga following the contest.  This might not even be the highlight of the 33-year-old lefty's past year...Blackley married American model Jenna Cecil in the offseason, with no apparent deleterious effect on his stamina (football coaches, take note).

The game was a pitcher's duel from the onset, as Tijuana starter Barry Enright matched Blackley, zero for zero, until serving up a two-out homer to Puebla first baseman Daric Barton to center field in the top of the sixth inning.  Enright lasted 6.2 innings, scattering seven hits and walking one while striking out five Pericos batsmen in absorbing a loss he really didn't deserve.  After Jose Meraz replaced Enright (who'd thrown 103 pitches) to record the final out of the seventh, Juan Sandoval took the hill for the Toros and pitched a scoreless eighth.

Sandoval, a 35-year-old Dominican righty who pitched well for Tijuana after being released by Mexico City in late June, opened the top of the ninth by letting up a leadoff double to Sergio Perez, who lined a 1-1 pitch into left field.  It looked like the Toros might escape their predicament when Alberto Carreon grounded out and Rudy Amador struck pout swinging, but Nyjer Morgan's sharp grounder up the middle into center scored pinch-runner Oscar Sanay from second to make it a 2-0 Puebla lead.  The threat ended one pitch later when Morgan lit out to steal second but was nailed by a perfect throw from Toros catcher Juan Apodaca to second sacker Carlos Valencia for the third out.

It was then left to Gaudin, who pitched for nine MLB teams between 2003 and 2013, to close out the game and season for Puebla in the bottom of the ninth, but it didn't go as smoothly as Pericos manager Cory Snyder hoped.  After Oscar Robles led off for Tijuana by lining out to Carreon at shortstop, Olmo Rosario legged out a bunt single down the third base line to keep the Toros' hopes alive.  Gaudin then faced the dangerous Dustin Martin, who'd already had a pocketful of postseason plate heroics for Tijuana.  After working the count to 3-2, Gaudin got Martin swinging for the second out. During the at-bat, Rosario broke for second to steal the bag, drawing a throw from Tapia.  Umpire Jesus Lopez ruled Rosario safe, causing Pericos skipper Snyder to come out of the dugout to protest the decision, but the call was upheld.  Gaudin then took matters into his own hands by whiffing Apodaca on five pitches to pick up his seventh playoff save and clinch the title for Puebla.

Ex-MLB outfielder Willy Taveras had an outstanding Serie del Rey for the Pericos, batting .458 over the six-game set, while Barton and Tapia each hit two homers for Puebla.  This series was decided by pitching, however, as the Pericos staff held Tijuana to a .199 average.

Puebla 2-10-0, TIJUANA 0-3-1 (Puebla wins series, 4 games to 2)
W-Blackley. L-Enright. SV-Gaudin. HR-Barton (P). T-3:02. A-17,893.

Big inning propels Pericos to win, 3-1 title series lead

A four-run outburst in the fourth inning put Puebla ahead for good and starter Hector Galvan (pictured) and three relievers combined to toss shutout ball over the final eight frames as the Pericos went on to beat Tijuana, 5-1, Sunday in the Mexican League Championship Series at Puebla's Estadio Hermanos Serdan with a sixth consecutive sellout crowd of 12,112 looking on.  With the win, the Parakeets took a 3-games-to-1 lead in the Serie del Rey in their quest for their hometown's first LMB pennant in 30 years.

The Toros took a 1-0 lead in a crazy top of the first inning.  After walking leadoff batter Jose Guadalupe Chavez and inducing Alex Romero to foul out to Pericos left fielder Nyjer Morgan, things started getting weird when Olmo Rosario stepped up to the plate for Tijuana.  Galvan threw a wild pitch to Rosario that allowed Chavez to scamper to second, then a delivery that eluded catcher Cesar Tapia gave Chavez the green light to advance to third.  It was left to Rosario to loft a fly ball that fell to earth in front of center fielder Willy Taveras for a single, bringing in Chavez with what turned out to be the Toros' only run.  Dustin Martin and Carlos Valencia also singled to load the bases before Oscar Robles grounded out to second to end the inning.

The Pericos knotted the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the first when Jose Rodriguez' grounder found its way to left field to bring Morgan in from third, but it was the fourth inning that effectively put the game away for Puebla.  Rodriguez opened the inning by being plunked Tijuana starter Miguel Pena, moved to third on a Daric Barton double and (after Pena walked Tapia to load the bases) came in on an infield single by Ruben Rivera.  Alberto Carreon then stroked a two-run double to give Puebla a 4-1 lead.  Rudy Amador grounded out on a comebacker to Pena on the mound with no more runs coming in, but that was enough for Tijuana manager Pedro Mere.  Mark Serrano was brought in to face Oscar Sanay, who nubbed an infield single to third that brought Rivera in from third before Morgan ended the inning by lining to first sacker Roberto Lopez for an unassisted double play to end the inning and (in effect) the game, as nobody scored the rest of the way.

Taveras went 3-for-5 to lead the Pericos' nine-hit effort while Carreon recorded his third straight two-hit game to raise his playoff batting average to .360.  Rosario collected two of Tijuana's six hits.  Galvan ended up allowing the Toros' lone run on five hits over his five innings of work to take the win, scattering five safeties.  Pena absorbed the defeat to fall to 0-2 in the playoffs, giving up six hits, hitting two batters and walking another in 3.1 frames.  He was charged with all five Puebla runs.  One day after the two teams combined for six homers in Game Three, neither side hit one out Sunday.

The Pericos will try to clinch Puebla's first Liga pennant since 1986 and fourth since 1925 on Monday while the Toros try to keep the Serie de Rey alive and send the proceedings back to Tijuana for Games Six and Seven.  Lefty Horacio Ramirez will be on the hill for the Toros while fellow portsider Orlando Lara will start for Puebla.  The first pitch is scheduled for 8:00pm ET.

PUEBLA 5-9-0, Tijuana 1-6-0 (Puebla leads series, 3 games to 1)
W-Galvan. L-M. Pena. T-2:46. A-12,112.

LMB Division Championships result, highlights for Monday, September 5

The home team won every game of the Mexican League's North Division Championship Series until the last one.

The Tijuana Toros put together a three-run sixth inning to break a 1-all tie and went on to win, 5-2, Monday night at Monterrey to take Game Seven and the LMB North crown to advance to the Serie del Rey against Puebla.  Tijuana had finished the regular season in third place in the division, eight-and-a-half games behind the Sultanes in the standings.  However, manager Pedro Mere (who replaced ex-Yankee Luis Sojo at the helm on July 4) led the Toros to series wins over higher seeds Monclova and Monterrey to give the border city a shot at its first Mexican League pennant.

Tijuana 5-13-0, MONTERREY 2-9-1 (Tijuana wins series, 4 games to 3)
W-A. Sanabia. L-C. Carrillo. SV-Urquidez. HR-Martin (T). T-3:05. A-25,621.
TJ starting pitcher Alex Sanabia (pictured) did his part by tossing six-and-two-thirds innings of one-run baseball, scattering six hits to raise his playoff record to 3-0.  The game got off to a perilous start for the one-time Marlins hurler, however, as he gave up an RBI double to Alex Valdez in the bottom of the first to put Monterrey on the scoreboard.  Sanabia had to pitch out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam that frame to stop the bleeding, then faced the minimum number of Sultanes batters the next five innings.
Tijuana tied it up in the top of the fourth when Carlos Valencia singled in Olmo Rosario, but it was the sixth when the roof finally fell in on Sultanes starter Cesar Carrillo.  Dustin Martin led off the entrada with a first-pitch homer to right to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. That was followed by a Rosario single, an RBI double by Oscar Robles and a single by Edson Garcia that drove in Robles from second to make it a 4-1 Tijuana lead.  Then Roberto Lopez homered in the top of the seventh to give Sanabia a four-run lead. The San Diego native combined with three relievers combined to limit the Sultanes to one eighth-inning score on Alex Valdez' RBI single to ice the win and send the Toros on to the LMB championship series against Puebla.

LMB Division Championships results, highlights for Wednesday, August 1

Travis Blackley (pictured) picked up where he left off when rain delayed Tuesday night's game and went on to pitch seven strong innings as Puebla defeated Yucatan, 5-3, Wednesday at Estadio Hermanos Serdan extend the Pericos' Mexican League South Division Championship Series lead over the Leones, 3 games to 0.  In the LMB North DCS, Olmo Rosario had a big night for Tijuana as the Toros broke Monterrey pitchers' 33-inning shutout streak in a big way, pounding the Sultanes, 9-1, in Estadio Gasmart to hand the visitors their first loss of the postseason.

PUEBLA 5-12-0, Yucatan 3-7-1 (Puebla leads series, 3 games to 0)
W-Blackley. L-T. Solis. SV-Gaudin. HR-J. Valdez (Y). T-2:56. A-12,112.
Former big leaguer Travis Blackley returned to the mound after tossing one scoreless inning Tuesday night and put in six more frames of work Wednesday, allowing one run on four hits to pick up his first win of the playoffs.  Tomas Solis, who allowed the first run of the game Tuesday, did not reappear but was handed the loss for the Leones.  Ruben Rivera had three hits for the winners while Nyjer Morgan singled and scored twice while driving in another run for Puebla.  Jesus Valdez cracked a solo homer for Yucatan, who face elimination by the Pericos in Thursday's tilt in the colonial city.

TIJUANA 9-11-0, Monterrey 1-5-3 (Monterrey leads series, 2 games to 1)
W-Sanabia. L-O. Villareal. HR-Rosario (T), Sappelt (M), Apodaca (T), R. Lopez (T). T-2:45. A-15,018.
Olmo Rosario went 3-for-5 with a grand slam as Tijuana doused Monterrey, 9-1, in front of 15,018 home fans at Estadio Gasmart Wednesday night.  Sultanes pitchers had extended their playoff shutout string to 33 innings (including four straight shutouts) into the third inning, when Alex Romero's single off Cesar Carrillo drove in Edson Garcia with the game's first run.  Tijuana had a 3-1 lead when Rosario's quad shot put the game out of reach four entradas later.  Toros starter Alex Sanabia allowed one run in six innings for the win.  The two teams meet again tonight in TJ.

THURSDAY'S SCHEDULE
Yucatan (J. Castellanos) at Puebla (H. Garcia), Estadio Hermanos Serdan, 8:00pm EDT
Monterrey (J. Solano) at Tijuana (H. Ramirez), Estadio Gasmart, 8:35pm EDT

MexPac Playoff Scoreboard: SUN, Jan. 17, 2016

Both the Navojoa Mayos and Mazatlan Veados won their Mexican Pacific League semifinal road games Sunday, forcing Game Sevens on Monday in Mexicali and Obregon. Navojoa overcame their own anemic offense with ten innings of shutout pitching and an opportunistic last frame in their overtime victory over the Aguilas while the Venados offense lit up Yaquis pitcher for 14 hits in their tilt.

Following Monday's games, the winning teams will take a two-day breather before opening the MexPac championship series Thursday.

Navojoa 1-4-0, MEXICALI 0-7-1 (10)
W-Moskos (1-0).  L-M. Lara (0-1).  T-2:53.  A-17,000.

After Friday night's comedy of errors, the Navojoa Mayos pulled it together Sunday with an error-free 1-0 win in ten innings at Mexicali in front of 17,000 spectators at La Nida to tie their series at three games apiece, setting up Monday's Game Seven.

Starters Hector Velazquez of Navojoa and Hector Daniel Rodriguez of the Aguilas locked into a pitcher's duel, as Velazquez allowed two hits and struck out seven Mexicali batsmen and walking none over seven innings on the mound while Rodriguez scattered three singles and one walk in 6.1 frames, whiffing eight.  Both bullpens came through as three Navojoa relievers combined for three scoreless innings and four more Aguilas hurlers went 3.2 frames and allowed one Mayos hit, but that safety ended up being the game's difference-maker.

Navojoa first baseman Jesus "Jesse" Castillo (pictured) led off the tenth by rapping a single to right field off Mauricio Lara, then advanced to second when Lara made a bad throw on Jose Guadalupe Chavez' sacrifice bunt back to the mound.  Nate Tenbrink followed Chavez with another bunt to the hill, but Lara was able to nip him at first while both runners advanced.  The call was disputed by Navojoa skipper Enrique "Che" Reyes, but replays upheld it.  Jose Manuel Lopez was brought in to pitch to pinch-hitter Fernando Flores, who lofted a fly ball to centerfielder Chris Roberson.  The 36-year-old Californian made the catch, but Castillo beat the throw to the plate to score the first and only run of the contest.  Mayos closer Daniel Moskos let up two singles in the bottom of the tenth before inducing Luis Juarez to hit into a 5-3 game-ending double play.

Eddie Gamboa will pitch for Navojoa in Monday's Game Seven.  Mexicali manager Edgar Gonzalez did not name his starter as of press time.  Marco Duarte started against Gamboa in Game Three for the Eagles but gave up four runs on two hits and three walks in 3.1 innings in a 6-3 losing effort.
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Mazatlan 6-14-0, OBREGON 3-7-2
W-A. Meza (2-1).  L-R. Valdez (1-2).  T-3:33.  A-15,133.

The Mazatlan Venados built themselves a 5-0 by the fifth inning and went on to down the Obregon Yaquis, 6-3, Sunday at a jam-packed Estadio Tomas Oroz Gaytan, leveling their MexPac semifinal series at three games each.

Mazatlan's Cyle Hankerd opened the scoring in the top of the fourth by singling in Agustin Murillo, then came in himself on Olmo Rosario's single to right, barely beating Dustin Martin's throw to the plate.  The call was disputed but upheld by replay officials.  The Venados plated three more runs in the fifth, two scoring on Esteban Quiroz' line-drive double to straightaway center field.  The Yaquis finally broke through with a run in the sixth and two in the seventh, but never came closer than two runs.

Mazatlan collected 14 hits for the game, including three for Rosario and two each for Hankerd, Murillo, Jeremias Pineda, Carlos Munoz and Paul Leon.  Rosario and Quiroz each drove in two runs. Yaquis second baseman Carlos Valencia jacked his fifth postseason homer in the fifth off Venados starter Andres Meza, who got the win after letting in all three Yaquis runs in 5.2 innings.  Justin Green went 2-for-4 for Obregon to raise his postseason batting average to .429 while Martin chipped in two singles.  Yaquis starter Rolando Valdez was ripped for eight hits and five runs before being yanked with one out in the fifth and took the loss.

Game Seven will be Monday night in Obregon.  Venerable Walter Silva will be on the mound for Mazatlan while the Yaquis will send David Reyes to the hill.