MARIACHIS ADD 2-TIME MVP CASTILLO TO ROSTER

Jesse Castillo batting for Guasave

    The brand-new Guadalajara Mariachis are looking to make a splash in their inaugural Mexican League season. However, while adding prominent players to their roster, they've created a logjam for themselves at one position. According to Roberto Espinosa of Beisbol Puro, the Mariachis have picked up veteran first baseman Jesse Castillo after already signing longtime LMBer Saul Soto and former major league All-Star Adrian Gonzalez, who also play the initial hassock.

    While the threesome would have the potential to belt a combined 75+ homers in a full season for the Jalisco squad (if each was healthy and played every day), even if they split time between first base and designated hitter, someone would be sitting because the 42-year-old Soto hasn't caught a game since 2016, the 38-year-old Castillo has played three games at third base since 2015 and Gonzalez (who turns 39 next month) last played the outfield in 2012. It might make the most sense to rotate the three between first and DH over the upcoming 66-game season, meaning each would play 44 times, but it remains to be seen whether any would be willing to sit every third day.

    Castillo comes with some risk after missing all of the 2019 LMB season due to a blown knee suffered when he was rounding first base while batting for Monclova during the Fall 2018 North Division championship series. The Mexicali-born slugger did play winterball in Venezuela during the 2019-20 campaign and with Guasave last season in the Mexican Pacific

League before being named the LMP Finals MVP and belting a homer and driving in five runs for Culiacan as a reinforcement in the Caribbean Series, so it does appear that his bat is back in shape. Castillo was training to play for Leon last spring before the Wuhan Virus-caused pandemic led to the Liga's 2020 season being canceled.

    Prior to his injury, Castillo may have been the most feared hitter in the Mexican League between 2015 and 2018. Over that timespan, the 6'1” lefty swinger never batted below .324 while leading the LMB with an aggregate 557 hits, 315 RBIs and 322 runs scored. He was second with 108 doubles and 293 walks while belting 66 homers to rank sixth in the loop en route to winning consecutive MVP trophies in 2017 and Spring 2018. In other words, he has legitimate bonafides. But so do El Jefe (Soto) and El Titan (Gonzalez).

    With the start of the Mexican League's shortened schedule less than six weeks away, Guadalajara manager Benji Gil will have to determine what kind of balancing act he'll have to use in the regular season over the next two months. If he goes with the three-man, two-position rotation mentioned above, the trio would at worst be fairly well-rested heading into the playoffs in early August.

ACEREROS, TECOS TO PLAY TWO EXHIBITIONS IN SAN ANTONIO

Danny Espinosa at Acereros camp

    Two Mexican League teams will be playing a pair of exhibition games in San Antonio later this month when the defending LMB champion Monclova Acereros take on the Dos Laredos Tecolotes. The games will take place Thursday, April 29 and Friday, April 30 at Nelson Wolff Stadium, home of the Class AA San Antonio Missions, a San Diego Padres affiliate.

    The Acereros will have a major league look on their roster, starting with their manager. The American League's 1992 Rookie of the Year, Pat Listach, took the reins of the team during the 2019 season and led them to the city's first Mexican League pennant 45 years after Monclova's debut season. One of Listach's coaches is former Phillies second baseman Juan Samuel, a three-time National League All-Star. Then there's the Monclova playing roster.

    Former Cubs World Series shortstop Addison Russell signed with the Steelers last month and another big name is reportedly on the way for 2021. Russell will be joined by outfielder Rajai Davis (who played for Cleveland against Russell's Cubs in the 2006 Fall Classic), first baseman Chris Carter (2016 National League home run champion), Erick Aybar (former American League All-Star) and Bartolo Colon, the AL's 2005 Cy Young Award winner. The Acereros have also picked up former Nationals infielder Danny Espinosa, who is slated to play at shortstop while Russell moves over to third base in initials plans for the upcoming season.

    The Tecolotes will not have nearly the same star power as Monclova brings over the Texas border. The biggest name on the Dos Laredos roster may well be their manager, former pitching star Pablo Ortega. A 44-year-old Nuevo Laredo native, Ortega retired in 2019 after 19 seasons in the Liga, finishing with a 156-101 career record and a 4.41 ERA along with 1,119 strikeouts over 2,072 innings pitched. He reached double figures in wins seven times (five times between 2008 and 2012), pitched in six All-Star Games and was the LMB Comeback Player of the Year in 2011. Ortega served as interim manager last winter in Mazatlan, where he led the Venados to a winning record and a Mexican Pacific League playoff berth after replacing Juan Jose Pacho, but will not be back for the 2021-22 season.

Dos Laredos 1B Balbino Fuenmayor

    Ortega's charges will include a pair of former MLBers from Brazil. Outfielder Paulo Orlando was a member of Kansas City's 2015 American League pennant-winning team as a rookie while fellow Andre Rienzo pitched for the White Sox and Marlins between 2013 and 2015. Both spent time in the Mex Pac with the Obregon Yaquis last winter.

    Some familiar names in Mexican baseball dot the Tecos roster. The border team recently dealt for veteran Oaxaca centerfielder Alan Sanchez, a 2017 All-Star and .305 batter since his 2010 Liga debut. Orlando and Sanchez will be joined in the outfield by Roberto Lopez, who was the 2017 Serie del Rey MVP after leading Tijuana to the pennant that year. First baseman Balbino Fuenmayor, who hit .334 with 31 homers for Dos Laredos in 2019, is back in Mexico after finishing the winterball season in his native Venezuela. One notable member of the Owls' roster is pitcher Luke Heimlich, the Pitcher of the Year in 2018 at Oregon State, who went 8-7 with a 4.58 ERA over 21 starts with the team in his 2019 pro debut.

    Game times in San Antonio for the series will be 7:05PM both night. Ticket prices for the exhibition games will range from $10 to $30 each.

SIXTEEN MEXICANS ON MLB OPENING DAY ROSTERS

Oliver Perez in 19th MLB season

    The Mexican contingent that opened the 2021 Major League Baseball season this month consisted of 16 players. While Oliver Pérez is adding a 19th MLB season to his resume, eight other players of Mexican descent had their first experience on a big league Opening Day roster, including brothers Luis and Ramón Urías.

    The Urías brothers are not the first Mexican-born pair of siblings to open the season on a Major League Baseball roster. Adrián and Édgar González, Mexicans born in California, did it playing for the San Diego Padres in 2009. In the case of Oliver Pérez, he will continue to set the record for most seasons by a Mexican in MLB, In 2020, he passed Fernando Valenzuela, Aurelio Rodríguez and Juan Gabriel Castro, who participated in 17 calendars in The Show.

    Eight of the 16 players who opened the season in the Major Leagues experienced an Opening Day at that level for the first time: José Urquidy (Houston), Giovanny Gallegos (St. Louis), Alejandro Kirk (Toronto), Luis Urías (Milwaukee), Ramón Urías (Baltimore), Víctor González (Dodgers), Río Ruiz (Baltimore) and Felipe “Tres” Barrera (Washington). Last year, Urquidy and Gallegos were scheduled to start the campaign with their teams but the pandemic prevented that from happening.

    The number of 16 Mexicans opening the 2021 MLB season is the most since the same number was recorded in 2017, but still far behind the record of 24 Mexican nationals on Opening Day rosters in the 2003 campaign.

MEXICAN NATIONALS ON 2021 OPENING DAY ROSTERS:

Baltimore infielder Ramon Urias

Felipe “Tres” Barrera (Washington Nationals)
Luis Cessa (New York Yankees)
Phillip Evans (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Giovanny Gallegos (St. Louis Cardinals)
Victor Gonzalez (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Alejandro Kirk (Toronto Blue Jays)
Oliver Pérez (Cleveland Indians)
Daniel Ponce de León (San Luis Cardinals)
Sergio Romo (Oakland Athletics)
Rio Ruiz (Baltimore Orioles)
Joakim Soria (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Julio Urías (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Luis Urías (Milwaukee Brewers)
Ramón Urías (Baltimore Orioles)
José Urquidy (Houston Astros)
Alex Verdugo (Boston Red Sox)

2021 CARIBBEAN SERIES SCHEDULE RELEASED

    The schedule for the 2021 Caribbean Series in Mazatlan was released last Tuesday. Six nations will be represented at the event, in which 18 games will be played in a seven-day period beginning Sunday, January 31 and concluding with the championship game on Saturday, February 6. 

    All games will be played at Estadio Teodoro Mariscal, home of the Venados. The first stage will be a round-robin series of tripleheaders for the first five days (Sunday through Thursday), followed by a semifinal doubleheader on Friday, February 4 and the title contest one day later. Tripleheaders are slated to begin with 12:00PM games and followed by contests at 4:00PM and 8:00PM, the semifinal twinbill will commence at 4:00PM and the championship game is set for 8:00PM (local time).

    Joining the Mexican Pacific League champions will be pennant-winners from traditional Serie del Caribe countries Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic along with relative newcomers Panama and Colombia, which replaced Cuba in the lineup last winter after the Cuban National Series champion Matanzas Cocodrilos pulled out weeks before the tournament, citing visa problems prevented them from entering Serie del Caribe site San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

    Colombia had never been represented in the Caribbean Series before, but even though the fill-in Monteria Vaqueros lost all five of their games in San Juan, they played credibly as a first-time LCBP entrant and when Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation president Jose Francisco Puello announced earlier this year that Cuba would not play in the 2021 CS, the Colombians were invited to send their champions a second time. 

    This will mark the third consecutive season Panama has played in the event after a 48-year absence. The country was pressed into host duties in 2019 after turmoil in Venezuela (the planned site) forced the tournament to be moved from Barquisimeto to Panama City shortly before it was to convene. The Panamanian League champion Herrera Toros were awarded a sixth berth and shocked observers by going 3-1 in group play and beating Cuban champion Las Tunas, 3-1, to take the title.

    Ironically, the only winter league in the Western Hemispere that's been playing is the one whose champion will have to stay home. The Cuban National Series got their schedule underway on September 12, have had no Wuhan virus interruptions to date and will pass the 50-game mark this week.

    Things haven't run so smoothly for the other six circuits. As mentioned, the Mex Pac is in the midst of an 11-day shutdown due to the virus after opening on October 15 as planned. The LMP has reduced the regular season from 68 to 59 games prior to commencing their eight-team playoffs in January. All other CS leagues have delayed their season openers: The Dominican Winter League was scheduled to open their season yesterday (November 15), the Colombian League begins play November 28 and both the Venezuelan League and Puerto Rico's Roberto Clemente League start December 1. No word on if/when the Panamanian League will play. 

    It may be worth keeping an eye on the Nicaraguan National League, which was scheduled to open its season last Friday. Nicaragua is currently 15th in the WBSC baseball rankings (Panama is 12th and Colombia is 14th), and LPBN organizers have wanted to take part in a Caribbean Series for a few years. In case of emergency in this virus-altered season, they may have their chance in January.

WHAT SHUTDOWN? LMP TEAMS TRAINING AND TRADING

Charros coach Fernando Elizondo tosses BP

    Although the Mexican Pacific League is ostensibly wrapping up a self-imposed, 11-day shutdown that took effect Friday, November 7 after the Wuhan virus forced the cancellation of a number of games (including two entire series), things have been anything but inactive on the playing fields or in the front offices among the loop's franchises.

    By early last week, all ten teams were holding workouts in their respective home ballparks in preparation for resumption of play even though more than half had players and coaches who'd tested positive for the virus. One of those, Jalisco infield coach Fernando Elizondo (who'd tested positive on October 23), was back tossing batting practice pitches at Estadio Charros last Tuesday. On that same day, members of the Culiacan Tomateros took part in a seven-inning intrasquad game while Los Mochis manager Victor Bojorquez was overseeing workouts. Bojorquez was quoted in El Jonronero as saying, "We're going to continue working with the boys and by the weekend, we'll have intrasquad games."

    In a podcast for Puro Beisbol, longtime former catcher Adan Amezcua criticized the Mex Pac for not enforcing the shutdown. "Continuing to train will not help them much," Amezcua told Puro Beisbol's Ricardo Gonzalez.  "They will not have collective immunity because this (the virus) continues to spread and will continue to spread. The league has to reach out and impose very strong sanctions for those who break the rules."

    LMP general managers were getting workouts on the phone as well, with several deals taking place during the game stoppage. The Monterrey Sultanes were involved in two transactions, including receiving former MLB outfielder Paulo Orlando on loan from Obregon to complete an earlier arrangement in which they similarly loaned holdout outfielder Felix Perez to the Yaquis. Orlando played with Kansas City between 2015 and 2018, batting .263 with 14 homers over 278 games for the Royals. the 35-year-old Brazilian was a latecomer to baseball at age 12 when a physician his mother worked for recommended he give the game a try. Orlando played soccer and was on Brazil's Junior National track team before focusing baseball. He was a member of Kansas City's 2015 World Series title team. He's due to play in the Mexican League for Dos Laredos next year.

Paulo Orlando is heading to Monterrey

    The Sultanes also shipped veteran reliever Jesus Pirela to Mazatlan. The 31-year-old Venezuelan, who replaces outfielder Chris Roberson on the Venados roster, is considered one of the top setup men in Mexican baseball, leading the Mexican League in holds in 2019 while also being selected to the All-Star Game. Pirela also has experience as a closer in both leagues south of the border, going 20-for-20 in save opportunities for Veracruz of the LMB in 2014 and saving 18 games for Navojoa in 2018-19. He may replace current Mazatlan closer Ryan Newell who is third in the Mex Pac with three saves but has a 10.13 ERA, which won't cut it with a team as historically reliant on pitching as the Deer. The former Phillies and Rangers farmhand was unscored upon in four appearances for Monterrey this season.

    Another struggling hurler was let go by the Jalisco Charros two years after becoming only the fifth Pitching Triple Crown winner in league history. Cuban righty Elian Leyva, who was 6-2 with a 2.02 ERA and 67 strikeouts for Jalisco in 2018-19 and was named the LMP Pitcher of the Year. Leyva, who'd been a middleman in seven Cuban National Series seasons and in 2018 as a Brave minor leaguer, struggled a bit last season and went 2-1 with a 4.33 ERA in seven starts for the Charros. He pitched a pair of games in Italy last summer before returning to Guadalajara this season but the magic failed to reappear, as Leyva was 0-3 and 13.06 at the time of his release. He's being replaced on the Jalisco roster by reliever Brennan Bernardino, an Indians minor leaguer who pitched for the Charros last winter.

    Finally, Hermosillo GM Juan Aguirre confirmed to Puro Beisbol that first baseman Roberto Ramos will join the Naranjeros the first week of December. Ramos, a native son of the Sonora state capital, has returned from South Korea after an eye-opening debut season in Asia after several years in the Colorado Rockies system. Ramos, who turns 26 on December 28, hit .278 for the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization and finishing second in the KBO with 38 homers over 117 games as the Busan team finished second in the regular season with a 79-59 record. Aguirre said that Ramos, who hit two more roundtrippers during the playoffs, will likely be invited to return to Korea in 2021 after playing under a one-year contract for the Twins that paid up to $500,000.

CANTU SWINGS HOT BAT IN COPA JUNTOS; URIAS, OSUNA TO PLAY?

Jorge Cantu is playing in Copa Juntos

   The Copa Juntos por Mexico  ("Together for Mexico Cup"), a month-long tournament featuring young players from both the Mexico City Diablos Rojos and Oaxaca Guerreros of the Mexican League, got underway last Thursday at Mexico City's Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu. The teams will play through December 12. While the tourney is primarily a showcase for some of the top prospects from a baseball academy in Oaxaca (some of whom have already signed with Major League Baseball organizations), it's also been a chance for the up-and-comers to play with or against former MLB third baseman Jorge Cantu. Baltimore infielder Rmaon Urias and free agent pitcher Roberto Osuna have also said they'll make appearance at the Copa Juntos.

    The 38-year-old Cantu showed little rust after 19 months since his last Mexican League game. Playing for the Diablos Rojos' Jose Luis Sandoval team, he stroked an RBI double in the top of the first inning of last Tuesday's opening game to plate the first run of the tournament in a 6-2 loss to Team Daniel Fernandez. After his sacrifice fly in the top of the first drove in another veteran, Sergio Gastelum, for the first run of Friday's 9-3 loss to Team Nelson Barrera, Cantu socked a solo homer over the centerfield wall to cap a 3-for-5 game with two ribbies in Team Sandoval's 10-8 triumph over Team Barrera. Gastelum played last weekend during a break from his managerial duties with league-leading Obregon during the Mexican Pacific League's shutdown.

    Born in McAllen, Texas, Cantu grew up across the border in Reynosa before signing with Tampa Bay in 1999 at age 17. He broke in with the Rays during the 2004 season and went on to hit .271 with 104 homers in 873 MLB games for five teams. He hit 28 homers with 117 RBIs for Tampa Bay in 2005 and over a two-year stretch with the Marlins between 2008-09, he belted 45 longballs and drove in 195 runs. Since arriving in the LMB, Cantu has hit .291 with 99 homers in 535 games while playing for two pennant winners with the Tigres and one with Tijuana. The 38-year-old "El Bronco" signed with Mexico City in 2019 and batted .283 and 12 homers in 74 games that year.

Ramon Urias coming back to Mexico City

    Playing in Mexico City represents a homecoming of sorts for Urias, who spent five seasons at shortstop and second base for the Diablos and batting .323 with 35 homers in 352 games before signing a minor league contract with St. Louis following the 2017 seasons. After spending two years in the Cardinals system, mostly in Class AAA Memphis, the 26-year-old Sonoran was claimed on waivers by the Orioles in February and went on to bounce back and forth between Baltimore and the team's alternate training site during the truncated 2020 season. Urias did hit .360 in his first ten MLB games and cracked his first big league homer off Toronto's Shun Yamaguchi on September 25 in Buffalo. He'll reportedly play 11 or 12 games in the nation's capital.

    On November 4, Osuna said on Twitter that he'd pitch for a short time in Mexico City before reporting back to the Mexican Pacific League's Jalisco Charros on November 20. A Guadalajara native whose younger brothers are also in the Charros organization (outfielder Alex tested positive for the Wuhan virus earlier this month), Osuna had been working out with the team after declaring himself a free agent when it became apparent that Houston was not going to pick up the team option on his contract. The 25-year-old righthander saved 154 games and appeared in an All-Star Game and a World Series for Toronto and the Astros between 2015 and 2019, but went down with an elbow injury four games into the 2020 season and was done for the year. Tommy John surgery was feared but eventually ruled out. Osuna hopes his stint with Jalisco leads to contract offers from MLB teams.

Tucson Mexican Baseball Fiesta: Day Three Report

After sitting in the press box at Kino Stadium through four games over the first two nights of play at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta, I decided to write tonight’s entry while sitting in the stands.  My on-field focus has taken my attention away from what makes the MBF an “event” rather than just another set of ballgames and it’s the event that drew me to travel from Portland to Tucson in the first place.  So rather than bring you the dry summaries you’ve been getting so far, I’m hoping to convey more of the atmosphere here in Tucson at the expense of tracking runs, hits and errors (although I’ll throw in some random observations of play and players).  Right now I’m sitting in a section on the third base side of the upper level of Kino Stadium extending out from either side of the press box.  What follows will be spontaneous bursts of no particular train of thought:

It’s 5:35PM, the first game pitting Los Mochis against defending Mexican Pacific League champion Mexicali has just gotten underway and already the crowd is larger than either of the first two nights.  I think the crowd tonight is going to be...WHOA!  I just had a foul tip rattle around among the shading right above my head before spitting out to the concourse below.  One wrong bounce and this report is finished, as is the Chromebook I’m writing it on.  

C.J. Retherford is batting for Mexicali with the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the first. He’s become a year-round player in Mexico and I’ve noticed him playing with his very young son on the field during warmups all three nights, a charming sight you’d never see prior to a major league game but things are different in Mexican baseball.  Apparently they take the phrase “family-friendly” to heart. C.J.’s son didn’t come close to catching one of the tosses that I witnessed, but he has plenty of time to learn.  Despite the threat, the Aguilas failed to score before being retired.

At about a quarter after 6  with the sun going and an accompanying breeze, we’re settling into what should be a pleasant evening for some baseball.  Temperatures have reached the mid to upper 90’s every day since I arrived Wednesday night, something I rarely see at home midway between Seattle and Portland, but the low humidity has kept it from being bothersome.  The old saw, “It’s a DRY heat” is really true in Tucson.  

How’s this for prescience?  The first game is now in the bottom of the third (they’ve been playing seven) and Retherford just broke up a scoreless tie by smoking a double against Mochis starter Roy Merritt off a chain link fence atop the 8-foot high wall in the left field corner, driving in Walter Ibarra from third to put Mexicali up, 1-0.  Merritt was able to escape the inning without further damage.

Top of the fourth now and the Caneros have tied the game.  Ramon Urias, whose brother Luis is a top shortstop prospect in the Padres system, took first after being hit by a Sergio Mitre pitch and then flew around the bases on a Mitchell Walding double.  Urias had a terrific summer at shortstop for Mexico City was Baseball Mexico’s Summer 2017 MVP.  Tough choice this year but the kid kept the Diablos in the playoff race.  He doesn’t look big enough to hit 19 homers in a season but neither does Jose Altuve and the ball DOES tend to carry well in Mexico City’s 7,382-foot elevation.

People continue to file in to Kino Stadium, likely for the Hermosillo-Obregon nightcap (although a live performance by popular Mexican musical artist Freddy Vegas is no doubt at least an added draw).  Looking above and beyond the berm in right field, I can see a long string of cars making their way to the Kino parking lot.  Yep, it’ll definitely be the biggest crowd of the three nights I’ve been here. I’d guess there are upwards of three thousand people in the stands already.  Not impressive at first blush until the independent  Tucson Saguaros’ average attendance of 279 for three Pecos League playoff games earlier this year adds a sense of perspective.  

Top of the fifth with the score still tied, 1-1.  Mexicali manager Roberto Vizcarra has replaced ex-Yankee Sergio Mitre, who allowed one run on two hits in four innings, with Nicolas Heredia, who gives up a leadoff single to left by hulking Mochis veteran Saul Soto.  Soto is one of those guys who always hits well north of .300 with power, and it was a measure of respect in the summer of 2016 when he was named player-manager in Aguascalientes late in the season.  He did a credible job with the Rieleros before returning to player-only status after Homar Rojas was brought in and led the Railroaders to a fourth-place finish in the Mexican League’s North Division this year.

What had been a quickly-played game started dragging a bit, what with all the Caneros baserunners circling the sacks for three runs in the fourth and another three in the fifth to take a commanding 7-1 lead.  Mexicali has had six hits of their own but only that one run in the third to show for them.  Merritt pitched through the sixth, although I can make out some soft-tossing going on behind some signs obscuring the Caneros bullpen behind the left field fence and suspect skipper Luis Sojo will make a change for the seventh.

And so Sojo did, bringing in Lenix Osuna to close out the win for Merritt.  After getting the first two outs, Osuna ran into trouble and allowed a pair of last-gasp Aguilas runs to narrow the Caneros lead to 7-3 before inducing Retherford to ground out with runners at the corners to end both the surge and game.

Not having eaten for hours, I went down to the concourse for some late (8:00PM) dinner.  This weekend the house specialty is Mexican food and although there were several tempting items to choose from, I bought a bean-and-cheese burrito.  Along with concerns about eating something that would put me in a state of discomfort at 2 tomorrow morning, I’ve been a gringo pollo when it comes to spicy food ever since I bought a two-star item at a Thai restaurant near Seattle years ago that delivered a five-alarm fire with every bite.  I never DID taste the dish.  The mediocre-tasting burrito cost US$7.25, proving that you’ll overspend for ballpark food pretty much anywhere in any language.

Back at my perch next to the suites in time for introductions of players and coaches as well as the singing of both Mexican and USA national anthems by a lovely young lady.  At the end of the Mexican anthem (which itself is a longish but lovely song), I heard a male voice in the crowd shout “Viva Mexico!” followed by a loud cheer from the stands.  Loved it.

Just moments away from the first pitch of the nightcap and the stands are well over half-full.  It seems definitely a pro-Hermosillo gathering, if the number of cheers accompanying the on-field announcer’s mention of the Naranjeros as one of the two teams is any indication.  Lots of orange shirts and replica jerseys to be seen.  It reminded me of my first visit to Lambeau Field in Green Bay (I’m a lifetime Packers fan) for a night game, when I saw a large number of orange jackets in the stands.  Puzzled because the Packers colors are green and gold, I asked a local about the orange.  “Hunting vests,” he replied.

Not to be outdone, Obregon fans in attendance had their chance to roar approval on the second pitch of the game when former Orioles outfielder Felix Pie launched a delivery from Naranjeros starter Jose Samayoa to near the top of the berm in right-center field to stake the Yaquis a quick 1-0 lead.  Hermosillo came right back with the tying run in the bottom of the first when Domonic Brown ripped a run-scoring double to the wall in right-center to send speedy Jason Bourgeois flying in from first.  The Naranjeros then took the lead in the bottom of the second on a two-run double by Roberto Ramos and added another one later in the inning to go up 4-1, but Obregon’s Alex Liddi erased it with a three-run bomb into the left field bullpen in the top of the third to tie things up and the Yaquis pushed two more runs across to grab the lead back at 6-4.

As in the States, mascots play a large role in Mexican baseball, perhaps even more than their Yanqui counterparts.  Two of the MexPac’s most-popular mascots, Hermosillo’s Beto Coyote and Tigre Chaco of Obregon, are on hand and started working the crowd early.  As I type this, Chaco is dancing in the third-base coach’s box as the Yaqui partisans chant in unison from the stands.  Whatever the cause, the fairly reserved crowd in the opening game has been taken over by a boisterous gathering of what appears to be at least 5,000 aficionados in the stands for this one.

It’s now the top of the fifth with the Yaquis lead cut to 6-5 and Barbaro Canizares batting for Obregon.  Canizares is an interesting case.  A Cuban exile who’d been a teammate of Kendrys Morales with the Havana Industriales, Canizares defected with two other players in early 2004 after receiving a lifetime suspension from Cuban baseball for selling his jersey to a member of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.  After a few seasons in the Braves system (including a five-game cup of coffee with Atlanta in 2009), Canizares spent time with both the Yaquis and in Oaxaca of the Mexican League, batting .396, .438 and .378 for the Guerreros between 2011 and 2013 before going to Japan.  He only played 38 games in three injury-plagued years with the Softbank Hawks and returned to the LMB this summer, but was cut by both Veracruz and Quintana Roo after hitting .244 in 34 games, ending up in the Liga Norte.  Approaching his 38th birthday, the 6’3” first baseman is trying desperately to regain some of his old magic and found some in his bright red bat by blooping an RBI single in center to stretch Obregon’s lead to 7-5..

Well, here’s something you don’t always see at a ballpark: A guy just came out onto the field behind home plate and proposed to his girlfriend on the mic (in English and with the gentle prodding of Chaco the mascot).  She said yes, thankfully for the guy.

Music is as ever-present at Mexican ballgames as it is in the USA and this weekend has been no different.  As might be expected, nearly all the songs pumped out over the PA system between innings and during at-bats is from south of the border and greatly add to the atmosphere.  There were mariachi bands playing close enough to the action to conspire with the loudspeaker music to create a bit of a cacophony at times the past two nights, but I can hear strains of live music (Freddy Vega?) emanating from the parking lot without battling the PA system for decibel supremacy.  Good move, although it looks like some of the crowd is heading toward the parking lot for some dancing.  Beisbol con salsa!

While the stands were mostly full three hours ago, they’re gradually emptying with almost as many cars streaming out of the parking lot as were coming in earlier as the clock atop the left field scoreboard approaches 11:00.  The number of people occupying the berms is far fewer.  The gathering on the left-field foul territory berm appears to be mostly adults, but the outfield berms are the domain of kids.  The  right-field berm seems especially popular with the younger set, particularly for rolling down the slope on their sides toward the back of the outfield wall.  Sliding on their, uhh, backsides is another favorite, sort of like sledding without either a sled or snow.  It’s been a while, but I remember that as a kid, we made things like that work whether we had the proper accoutrements or not.  The younger you are, the more expansive your imagination.

Well, this one is finally in the books, with Obregon taking an 9-6 win as the final out was recorded at 11:46.  It’s been a long night at the ballpark, but a good one.  I’d been in a down mood all day, wondering whether what I’ve been doing with this blog (and Viva Beisbol before it) all these years has made the slightest bit of difference.  That’s still as debatable as it was this morning and something I’ll have to confront after I get home, but my blue funk has lifted significantly and these games have been the difference.  If the goal of baseball promoters is to surround a ballgame with a party, MBF organizer Mike Feder and the great, friendly ballpark staff have succeeded.  Well played.

Now it’s back to my room at the Quality Inn for a late-night discussion with that burrito.

BBM Summer Awards: Most Valuable Player

Mexico City shortstop Ramon Urias

I've mentioned a couple times that I was facing some mighty tough choices in picking the Summer Bammys this year, but none was harder than Most Valuable Player.  There were several standout performances this season in the Mexican League, only some of which BBM has already highlighted this week, but the MVP award (to me) boiled down to three players:  Tijuana centerfielder Corey Brown, Aguascalientes first baseman Jesus "Jesse" Castillo and Mexico City shortstop Ramon Urias.  Of all the Bammys I've considered since 2010, I agonized over this one more than any of the others and even broke down offensive and defensive stats for each player AND their respective teams to try determine who contributed the most to their club's success, and it's taken me until literally minutes before I started typing this piece to decide.

There are such good arguments for all three men.  Tijuana, of course, is this year's LMB champion and Brown was perhaps the main cog in the Toros machine.  He batted .291, his 24 homers were second in Liga to Saltillo's Rainel Rosario's 26 and finished fifth with 85 RBIs.  In addition, Brown was very effective on the basepaths, stealing 19 bases in 21 attempts to just miss being the sole member of the loop's 20/20 Club in 2017.  Defensively, he was an adequate centerfielder, hauling in 214 fly balls and throwing out four baserunners for a .982 fielding percentage with a 2.10 range factor.  Brown also played in this year's LMB All-Star Game at Campeche.  While it was his first such contest in the LMB, Brown previously played four midseason classics in the International, Texas and Midwest Leagues.  Despite his relatively-low batting average, he was my pick until Wednesday night, when I began considering Jesse Castillo.

Aguascalientes was the surprise team in the Liga's regular season this summer, winning 64 of 110 games to pull away from Union Laguna and Mexico City for fourth place in the LMB North, then provided perhaps the strongest opposition Tijuana faced in the playoffs before falling in six games in the division semis.  Rieleros manager Homar Rojas had to contend with a budget-limited roster along with the vagaries any skipper will encounter over a season, but the one constant was Castillo.  The veteran first sacker hit a rock-solid .342 with 20 homers and 82 RBIs while matching Brown with 79 runs to finish in the top ten in all four categories along with on-base percentage (.435), slugging percentage (.548) and OPS (.548).  Castillo also acquitted himself well at first with a .994 fielding percentage over 773 chances, including 712 putouts, 56 assists and a 9.72 range factor.  He played in his seventh All-Star Game this summer and was named its Most Valuable Player.  While Jose Vargas combined with Castillo to form a lethal 1-2 punch, the latter was clearly the most important player in Aguascalientes' unexpected success.  A legit MVP candidate, for sure.  But then on Thursday afternoon, I turned my attention to Ramon Urias.

The Diablos' wunderkind shortstop (he turned 23 in June) was able to carry his team to a 57-54 record and coming within four games of forcing a postseason play-in game against Aguascalientes despite a pitching staff with a 5.06 ERA while injuries and Father Time took their toll on Red Devils' position players.  Despite just missing the batting derby's top ten list (he was 12th at .340), Urias met that standard in several other offensive categories, leading the LMB with 91 runs scored along with 132 hits (tied for 10th), 29 doubles (tied for 7th), 19 homers (tied for 6th), 79 RBIs (8th), 224 total bases (tied for 4th), a .433 on-base percentage (5th), a .577 slugging percentage (4th) and 1.011 OPS (2nd).  He played most of his defensive time (65 games) at short but also spent 45 contests at second base, with a combined .967 fielding average in 530 total chances, contributing 203 putouts, 309 assists and taking part in 79 double plays (two fewer than Castillo) for a combined range factor of 4.65 over the two positions.  Although the Escarlatas missed the playoffs a second year in a row (after reaching the postseason every year between 1984 and 2015), those are numbers impossible to ignore.

As you can see, there's not a lot to create much separation among those three players, so I started comparing their individual stats with their team's overall stats and while I'll spare you that breakdown, it appeared rather clearly to me that Urias meant more to the Diablos Rojos than Brown did to the Toros and even Castillo did to the Rieleros.  While Brown and Castillo had stats similar or even below their respective team's, Urias' were better (some significantly) than his teammates accrued while working behind a pitching staff demonstrably inferior to Tijuana's and Aguascalientes'.  Adding in the fact that he was only 22 when his breakout season opened (Brown is 31 while Castillo is 34) and that being on a non-contending team didn't hurt another shortstop named Ernie Banks win TWO consecutive National League MVPs in the late 1950's, I've finally determined Urias is my top LMB player for 2017.

For being such a tender age, Urias (whose 20-year-old brother Luis is the premier shortstop prospect in the Padres system) has completed his seventh year as a pro.  Ramon spent two years in the Dominican Summer League after signing with Texas as a 16-year-old free agent in November 2010 (batting .213 in 2011 and .268 in 2012) before landing with Mexico City in 2013.  After batting an even .300 in 12 sporadic appearances that year, Urias took over the Diablos' shortstop job in 2014 and hit .262 in the regular season before raking pitchers for a .393 average with a homer over nine games as the Diablos had the Liga's best regular-season record and swept their way through the playoffs for their 16th LMB pennant.  He hit .351 with 10 homers in 2015 and was at .301 in 2016 before a June 22 injury in a game against Carmen ended his season early.

As major league scouts have also likely noticed, Urias appears to have recovered nicely.

BBM MOST VALUABLE PLAYER WINNERS
Summer 2010    Willis Otanez, Puebla
Winter 2010-11   Justin Christian, Los Mochis
Summer 2011     Luis Terrero, Mexico City
Winter 2015-16   Christian Villanueva, Obregon
Summer 2016     Cesar Tapia, Puebla
Winter 2016-17   Hector Velazquez, Navojoa
Summer 2017     Ramon Urias, Mexico City

Durango wins two in Mexico City, fewer than 2K attend series

There may not be two more different franchises in Mexican League baseball than the Mexico City Diablos Rojos and the Durango Generales.  The Diablos have existed in the nation's capital since 1940, they've won 16 pennants since they broke through for their first title in 1956, they're owned by Alfredo Harp Helu (Mexico's version of Paul Allen, a billionaire who likes to dabble in sports) and they'll move into a brand-new ballpark in 2018. South of the border, the Red Devils are baseball royalty.  After a halting beginning to the 2017 season, the Diablos won 8 of 10 games in early May to pull into contention for a playoff berth.

Then there are the Generales, who moved from Carmen during the winter, had an abbreviated training camp because there was nobody to run it for the first few weeks (manager Joe Alvarez wasn't hired until February), had to play their first month in the LMB on the road because renovation on Estadio Francisco Villa was delayed until well after the first of the year and have had to endure at least rumors of missing paychecks for players because owner Virgilio Ruiz is undercapitalized.  After a surprising start during which the Generales went 11-10 away from home, never being swept in a series while actually winning sets against LMB North powers Tijuana and Monterrey, the team hit the proverbial wall by being swept in Monterrey and Laguna before finally playing their first home game.  That came on May 2 against Monclova, who went on to sweep Durango and extend the new team's losing string to nine games while dropping their record to 11-19.

That was the background of the two franchises when the last-place Generales took a 20-31 record into Mexico City for their first-ever meeting against the 28-23 Diablos Rojos, who were hoping to pick up at least a couple wins and perhaps a sweep against the upstarts.  Instead, Durango left Estadio Fray Nano Thursday night after winning two of three games against one of the Liga's flagship franchises, leaving the Diablos wondering both what happened and where their fans were.

Durango pulled out a 5-3 win in Tuesday's opener when a two-out Daniel Hinojosa single brought in Jesus Loya and Javier Salazar to break a 3-all tie in the top of the ninth inning, followed by closer Tiago da Silva's scoreless frame (with two strikeouts) for his LMB-leading 19th save.  To their credit, the Diablos fought back Wednesday with a 13-8 slugout win keyed by a six-run sixth inning.  Mexico City shortstop Ramon Urias continued his career year by going 2-for-4 with four RBIs, including a three-run homer (his 10th) in the bottom of the first while leadoff man Carlos Figueroa had three of the Diablos' 17 hits on the night.

It was Thursday's rubber match, however, that left the home team scratching their collective heads as the visitors won by a 6-0 score.  Generales starting pitcher Amilcar Gaxiola, a former Braves farmhand who went 10-7 with Tabasco in 2014 but has struggled since (going 0-8 last year), tossed seven innings of six-hit shutout ball to earn his third consecutive win since May 20.  Durango rightfielder Yadir Drake, having a career year himself, belted a three-run homer in the top of the first off former LMB Rookie of the Year Juan Pablo Oramas to set the tone and the Diablos never came close to catching up.

The 27-year-old Drake (pictured), who defected from Cuba to the Yucatan Peninsula on a boat in 2011, is leading the Liga with a .406 average after bouncing around the minors since arriving on the mainland six years ago.  He actually spent time with a Diablos affiliate before signing with the Dodgers, who released him early last year.  Drake's career was floundering until last winter, when he hooked on with Los Mochis and hit .232 with 6 homers in 39 games for the Mayos.  Not eye-popping numbers, true, but enough to earn an invite from the fledgling Generales, who return home Friday night to open a weekend series against Tijuana.

While the Generales have earned respect around the LMB for showing fight under difficult circumstances, even by Liga standards, and winning 11 of their last 15 games, the Diablos are left wondering what's next. Since their May run (capped by a five-game win streak), Mexico City has gone 4-8 heading into a weekend home set against Union Laguna.  While they are a long way from being out of the race for a postseason berth at 28-26, good for a fifth-place tie with Aguascalientes and three games behind fourth-place Laguna, the Diablos are back to looking to regain some mojo.

The Diablos are one of two in the Liga (Harp's Oaxaca Guerreros being the other) who've decided to field all-Mexican rosters this year in reaction to MiLB president Pat O'Connor's edict last winter that there will be no limit to the number of Mexican-American players in the Liga.  Both teams, to their credit, have played credibly thus far (Oaxaca is one game out of fourth in the LMB South), but going all-domestic with one of the circuit's most potent offenses, including a .303 team batting average, has not translated to support at home for the Diablos.

A number of Mexican League teams have struggled at the gate in 2017, but nobody expected a legacy team in a city of more than 20 million people to draw fewer than 2,000 fans TOTAL for their series against Durango.  None of the three contests against the Generales drew as many as 700 aficionados at Estadio Fray Nano and a number of writers have noted that both Mexico City and Tabasco are now routinely drawing fewer than 1,000 onlookers per game, whether or not the announced attendance figures reflect that. reality.  The Diablos are officially averaging 2,805 fans per opening after 27 home games, ranking 12th in the 16-team loop, but it's clear that Mexico City residents are not coming to a ballpark that was never more than a stopgap after the team moved there from Foro Sol in 2014.  Perhaps people are waiting for the unnamed 12,000-seat (expandable to 16,000) facility to open.  It's been speculated that the new ballpark will be ready for play next month, making the decision by Diablos management to delay their first game until April 2018 a curious one, since Fray Nano has obviously never worked out for the team.  Ironically, a Durango team that was perilously close to not even playing this year is seventh in the LMB with an average of 3,604 fans after 15 home dates.

With the midway point of the season on the horizon, it's still too early to make any long-term predictions, dire or otherwise.  But even though a look at both Durango and Mexico City LMB franchises would give all the advantages to the latter at first glance, the two clubs appear to be heading in opposite directions.  Although there is certainly no chance of the Diablos folding or leaving Mexico City (the Yankees will leave New York first), the team needs some positive things to start happening soon to keep 2017 from becoming a proverbial “lost season.”

Wally Backman fired in Monclova; will Tim Johnson take over?

When Wally Backman was hired last winter to manage the Monclova Acereros, all that was missing was a betting line from Las Vegas oddsmakers on how long the former Mets infielder would stay.  Speculation was that Backman, who's had success managing teams (including Vegas) in both affiliated and independent minor leagues, was viewing Monclova as little more than a placeholder until he got another offer from a team in the States.

USA Today writer Bob Klapisch quoted Backman at the time as saying, "I would take it in a minute.  What I'm worried about is being out of sight, out of mind.  If I go to Mexico, I'll be out of sight from the people I'm trying to connect with."  After new Acereros owner Gerardo Benavides transferred several key players to Monclova from his 2016 champions in Puebla, the Steelers were considered a favorite to win the Mexican League's North Division title and contend for the city's first LMB championship.  As manager, Backman was obviously a major component of Benavides' win-now philosophy.

Backman has indeed left Monclova less than two months into the season, but not the way a lot of people (including himself) expected after he was fired last Friday with the Acereros holding a 22-20 record and fifth place in the LMB North.  In his defense, the team was not playing all that badly in what has been a very competitive division over the first eight weeks of the season, neither winning more than three consecutive games once nor suffering longer than one three-game skid either while averaging about six runs per contest with a team ERA of 4.43.  

However, there were two problems the fiery Oregonian couldn't overcome.  One was his inability to speak Spanish, something that can be a detriment to effectively managing a baseball team in Mexico (let alone writing about Mexican baseball, believe me).  Another is that while Benavides has spared little expense in collecting enough talent to elicit title talk among Liga observers, he is also a native of Monclova who now owns the team his grandfather, Harold Pape, formed in 1974 and keenly aware that no pennant flag has ever flown atop Estadio Monclova.  Managers in Mexico typically face much more pressure than their counterparts in other Class AAA leagues because the latter group are less concerned with winning than player development, but Backman worked under less margin for error than the 15 other Liga skippers who opened the season.

Although Backman has been replaced at the helm in Monclova by Jorge Luis Loredo, who hit .247 with 24 homers as an infielder for five LMB teams between 1987 and 2000 before embarking on a coaching career, at least one Puro Beisbol columnist has speculated that another former big league infielder, Tim Johnson, may end up with the Acereros job.  It's far from a far-fetched notion.  Benavides has shown a proclivity for hiring ex-MLBers to manage his teams (Cory Snyder and Von Hayes in Puebla, Backman in Monclova), Johnson has had success managing Toronto to an 88-74 record in 1998, copped two winterball titles for Hermosillo in the early Nineties and won the 1999 Liga pennant with Mexico City in his LMB debut.  He's currently managing in the Northern Mexican League's San Luis Algodoneros, who are 22-19 in the LNM and conveniently a farm team for both Benavides LMB clubs.  Johnson has effectively been blackballed from organized baseball after stories he told Blue Jays players about his exploits during the Vietnam War were proven false, but both his MLB playing and managing experience plus his track record in Mexico may be attractive to Benavides, who didn't hesitate to hire another controversial manager in Backman.  Time will tell.

The Acereros will have to pick up the pace soon, no matter who their helmsman is.  Monterrey has won three straight game (and 8 of their last 10) to run their LMB-best record to 30-11 under yet another former big league infielder, Felix Fermin.  Tijuana has stumbled a bit by losing four of their last ten contests to fall three-and-a-half games behind the Sultanes at 28-15.  After a halting start to their season, the Mexico City Diablos Rojos (with an all-Mexican roster) have won eight eleven games to pull into third place with a 25-20 mark.  There are a number of reasons, but the season shortstop Ramon Urias is having may the the biggest.  Although he won't turn 23 until June 3, Urias is in his fourth season with the Diablos after spending two summers in the Rangers organization as a teen.  After an injury-plagued 2016 campaign, the 150-pound Sonora product is hitting .331 with nine homers in 43 games.  The Red Devils are battling Monclova, Union Laguna and Aguascalientes (who released last year's RBI champ and BBM Summer Batter of the Year Diory Hernandez last week without explanation and no more notice than a line on the Transactions list) in the middle of the pack.  Saltillo and Durango are both more than 14 games out of first in the LMB North.

Yucatan has leveled off a bit, winning five of their last ten, but that early cushion they build has come in handy as the Leones still have a five-game lead in the LMB South over Puebla with a 27-16 mark.  The 23-22 Pericos have gone 7-3 over their past ten tilts to take over second place from Quintana Roo (20-21).  The defending champs are 16-11 away from home (including a three-game sweep in Tijuana last week in a rematch of last year's Mexico Series) but only 7-11 in Estadio Hermanos Serdan.  Steadily-improving Veracruz, Campeche and Oaxaca are all within eight games of Yucatan with Leon and Tabasco bringing up the rear.

Saltillo's six-time All-Star second baseman Luis Borges leads the Liga with an even .400 average, ten points ahead of Monterrey centerfielder Chris Roberson (himself a four-time LMB All-Star and the 2014 Caribbean Series MVP).  Tijuana outfielder Corey Brown has homered just once since his two-dinger game at Aguascalientes on May 4, but his total of 13 roundtrippers is still tops in the loop by two over the Rieleros' Jesus Castillo and Toros teammate Alex Liddi.  Castillo's 49 RBIs top that category, with Laguna's Ricky Alvarez second at 47.  Justin Greene of Saltillo has 19 stolen bases, five more than Quintana Roo's Freddy Guzman.  Guzman's 14 swipes have come in 25 games since signing with the Tigres as a free agent April 23.

Monterrey pitcher Angel Castro survived a so-so start (4 earned runs, 11 hits over 7 innings) on Saturday at home against the Tigres to lift his perfect record to 7-0, becoming the first hurler to reach seven victories.  Dustin Crenshaw of Laguna tossed five shutout frames at Oaxaca last Tuesday to go to 6-1 for the season.  Durango won four of six games last week, all saved by Tiago Da Silva (as he has for every Generales victory in 2017).  Da Silva's 16 saves leads the LMB, four up on Monclova's Chad Gaudin and Jairo Asencio of Yucatan.  Mitch Lively and Walter Silva continue to do well for a weak Leon club.  The Bravos' 16-18 record hasn't prevented the pair from posting the top two ERAs in the Liga, with Lively at 1.98 and Silva registering a 2.15 on the scale.  The tandem has gone 7-4 for the newcomer team, who continue to struggle at the gate with an average attendance of 2,300 through 13 openings (15th in the 16-team circuit).  Conversely, Durango has overcome a myriad of problems, including a delayed home opener of their own, to draw an average of 3,616 to place eighth on the turnout table.

There'll be a pair of matchups highlighting upcoming midweek series when Monterrey visits Puebla and Tijuana travels to Yucatan Tuesday through Thursday.  Attention will be maintained on Puebla next weekend when the ascendant Pericos play host to Monclova in a duel between the two Benavides-owned ballclubs.

Mazatlan pulls out 10-inning win, cops MexPac pennant

Cyle Hankerd (pictured) stroked a run-scoring single in the bottom of the tenth inning Monday to give the Mazatlan Venados a 4-3 walkoff win over the Mexicali Aguilas, clinching the Mexican Pacific League championship series, 4 games to 1.  Manager Juan Jose Pacho's team will represent Mexico in next week's Caribbean Series in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

In the top of the first, Mexicali leadoff hitter Chris Roberson needed just two pitches into the game to end the Aguilas' 20-inning scoreless streak by socking an Amilcar Gaxiola offering over the left field wall, a feat repeated later in the frame by C.J. Retherford to give Mexicali an early 2-0 lead.

The Venados got one run back in the bottom of the second when Hankerd repurposed a Javier Solano pitch into a solo homer to left center; Mazatlan then scored twice in the fourth to take the lead on Paul Leon's two-out triple to center that brought in Agustin Murillo and Erick Rodriguez.

The Aguilas pulled even in the top of the sixth when Ramon Urias beat out a bunt for a single, drawing an errant throw from Mazatlan third sacker Agustin Murillo that went sailing toward the right field corner and allowed Urias to advance all the way to third.  A Luis Suarez single to left scored Urias, making it a 3-3 ballgame.  The two teams then swapped zeroes from the bottom of the sixth until the fateful tenth.

After Paul Leon and Jeremias Pineda both struck out to open the bottom of the entrada, Justin Greene got on board when Urias couldn't find the handle on his grounder to short.  Greene then stole second, leading to Aguilas reliever Manuel Chavez' intentional walk of Esteban Quiroz to set up a force at any base.  Esmailin Caridad was brought in to face Hankerd, who worked the count to 2-2 before lining a single into left field.  The speedy Greene was waved in from second to home, where he beat Welington Dotel's throw to end the game and the series.

Steven Hensley pitched the ninth and tenth for the Venados and earned the win.  Chavez took the loss for Mexicali.  Hankerd finished with two hits, as did Aguilas catcher Francisco Cordoba. Mazatlan won their ninth MexPac pennant (and their first since 2009) despite losing a first round series to Navojoa in six games.  They got the nod as the "lucky loser" wildcard team and went on to top Obregon in seven games in the semis and vanquishing Mexicali in five games for the flag.  The Aguilas had the best regular season record in the LMP and won the first game of this series until the Venados won the next four.

Mazatlan will open the Caribbean Series in Santo Domingo next Monday when they take on defending Cuban National Series champion Ciego de Avila at 7:50PM local time.

MAZATLAN 4-8-2, Mexicali 3-7-1 (10)
W-Hensley (1-0).  L-Chavez (0-1).  T-3:32.  A-15,550.

Run holds through nine as Venados win Game Three

The Mazatlan Venados pushed one run across the plate in the bottom of the first inning and made it stand through the rest of their 1-0 shutout of the Mexicali Aguilas in Game Three of the Mexican Pacific League championship series.  The Venados took a 2-games-to-1 lead in the set with the win, which took just two hours, 21 minutes to complete.

After Mazatlan starter Andres Meza (pictured) blanked Mexicali in the top of the first inning, Jeremias Pineda led off the bottom of the frame for the Venados with a liner up the middle into center field.  After advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Justin Greene, Pineda sped in to score on Agustin Murillo's seeing-eye single over second base.  On the play, Aguilas centerfielder Chris Roberson threw a strike to first baseman C.J. Retherford after Murillo rounded first toward second, and Retherford threw the ball to shortstop Ramon Urias, who applied the tag for the out, but the damage was done.

Meza then trotted out to the mound for the second, third, fourth and fifth innings, retiring nine batsmen in a row at one point before allowing consecutive singles to Yuniesky Betancourt and Alex Liddi in the fourth (the only two hits he gave up) before retiring Roberson to end the inning followed by a 1-2-3 fifth before calling it a night.  Meza struck out five Aguilas batters and walked none, throwing 38 of his 50 pitches for strikes en route to his third playoff win.

Mexicali made one last-ditch effort in the eighth when Ramon Urias led off with a ground-rule double down the left-field line off Sergio Valenzuela, then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by pinch-hitter Jon Del Campo.  Walter Ibarra then sent a hard-hit grounder in the gap between first and second that would've scored Urias from third, but Mazatlan first sacker Cyle Hankerd made a diving stop to his right, looked Urias back to his base and tagged first to put Ibarra out.  Steven Hensley then came in for Valenzuela and struck out Retherford swinging to end the threat.  Hensley pitched a scoreless ninth for his fifth playoff save.

It was a heartbreaking loss for the Aguilas, especially starter Hector Daniel Roriguez, who was brilliant in the first complete-game outing in three rounds of postseason play.  Rodriguez went all eight innings on the hill for Mexicali, scattering five hits (none for extra bases), walking none and striking out six while throwing seven scoreless frames after the fateful first.  Pinedas had two of those hits for the Venados.  Liddi had two hits for the Aguilas, who had seven on the night but none when it mattered as Mexicali was 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

Game Four will be Sunday in Mazatlan.

MAZATLAN 1-5-1, Mexicali 0-7-1
W-A. Meza (3-1).  L-H. Rodriguez (2-1).  T-2:21.  A-15,400.