SOLANO TRADED, SILVA RETIRING; 1ST HALF END NEARS

    Career changes involving two of the Mexican Pacific League's most notable pitchers over the past decade were in the news last week. Longtime Mexicali starter Javier Solano was sent to Guadalajara after the Aguilas announced a four-player trade with the Jalisco Charros while Mazatlan hurler Walter Silva announced his pending retirement as a player to focus on serving at the Venados pitching coach at a press conference.

    Solano, a 31-year-old righty who's in his 14th winter of LMP action, has pitched 177 games over the seasons (107 as a starter) and has a Mex Pac career record of 48-36 with a 3.44 ERA. The San Luis Colorado native nicknamed “El Terrorista” was the loop's Pitcher of the Year in 2015-16, the ERA champion in 2019-20 and won a Gold Glove last winter. Solano, who made his LMP debut in 2008-09 with Hermosillo, was off to a rough start for Mexicali this season with an 0-4 record and 8.37 ERA in five starts after going 2-6 and 7.12 for Quintana Roo in the Mexican League over the summer.

    The former Dodgers farmhand was sent to the Charros along with fellow right-hander Felipe Arredondo in exchange for pitchers Fredy Quintero and Jesus Cruz. Arredondo is a middleman who has yet to pitch this winter but was 2-0 and 2.75 for the Charros last season before coming to the border city in the offseason. In return, the Aguilas get a veteran reliever in Quintero who was 1-0 and 4.76 for Jalisco this season while Cruz (5-2 and 4.76 in four years for the Charros) is another reliever who pitched one MLB game for St. Louis in 2020.

    Meanwhile, Silva is calling it a career after 20 years on the mound. After signing with Monterrey in 2002 at the relatively advanced age of 25, the Mazatlan product pitched for the LMB Sultanes and his hometown Venados (along with a one-year stint in Taiwan) before inking a free agent deal with San Diego in 2009. The 6'1 righty pitched six times that year for the Padres (0-2, 8.76) as a teammate of brothers Edgar and Adrian Gonzalez, with whom he'd previously played winterball in Mazatlan.

    After returning to Mexico for good, Silva spent ten more years in the Liga (five with Monterrey) and compiled a lifetime record of 97-86 over 16 seasons with a 4.56 ERA. He pitched another ten winters for Mazatlan and two more in Guasave. He was picked up as an emergency pitcher for Panama in the Caribbean Series last February and appeared in two games out of the bullpen. Now 44, Silva will make his first start this season (and last of his career) for the Venados against Jalisco at home on Wednesday night before becoming a full-time pitching coach under Mazatlan manager Eddie Diaz. His number 39 will be retired.

    Surprising Navojoa has created some breathing room at the top of the Mex Pac standings with a 19-10 record, three games ahead of 16-12 Guasave. With three games remaining in the first half, the Mayos are within grasp of clinching first place and the 10 points that come with it. For their part, Nipping the Algodoneros' heels are Jalisco, Obregon and defending champion Culiacan , all with 16-13 ledgers. At the bottom of the standings, hapless Los Mochis (8-20) has clinched last place and 3.5 points.

    Christian Villanueva of Jalisco holds the batting lead over Navojoa's Tirso Ornelas by a slim .386 to .383 margin. Yoelkis Guibert of Culiacan is third at .354. Navojoa's Kyle Martin has taken the home run lead with seven longballs after just 16 games, one more than Mayos teammate Maikel Serrano and Nick Torres of Hermosillo. Guasave's Jesse Castillo are tied for the lead in runs batted in with 25 each and Luis Alfonso Cruz of Hermosillo) is third with 23 ribbies. Culiacan's Dairon Blanco is tops with 12 stolen bases while teammate Sebastian Elizalde and Los Mochis' Isaac Rodriguez tied for second with 10 swipes.

    Elian Leyva of Hermosillo finally allowed an earned run during his sixth start Friday when Jalisco's Felix Perez singled in Julian Ornelas during the fourth inning of a 5-1 Naranjeros win, but Leyva's 0.24 ERA over 37 innings still leads all LMP starters. Jalisco's Orlando Lara is right behind at 1.13 and Hector Velazquez of Obregon is third with a 1.64 mark. Navojoa's Carlos De Leon has won all five starts for a 5-0 record to lead in wins, one more than Leyva and Lara. Luis Escobar of Obregon has an LMP-best 34 strikeouts in 35.1 innings, ahead of Obregon's Arturo Lopez (32) and new Jalisco starter Javier Solano (28) on the K table. Mexicali's Jake Sanchez continues to top the saves category with nine in 12 outings as Fernando Salas of Hermosillo trails with eight and Navojoa's Carlos Bustamante is third with seven salvados.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE Standings: Navojoa 19-10, Guasave 16-12, Jalisco 16-13, Culiacan 16-13, Obregon 16-13, Hermosillo 15-14, Mazatlan 13-16, Monterrey 13-16, Mexicali 12-17, Los Mochis 8-20.

TWELVE CUBAN PLAYERS DEFECT AFTER U-23 WORLD CUP

    The final day of last month's WBSC Under-23 Baseball World Cup in Sonora saw the Cuba drop the Bronze medal game to Colombia, 5-3, in Hermosillo's Estadio Sonora. However, the Cubans suffered a greater loss with longer-lasting implications off the field after 12 young players had defected to Mexico by the time the tournament ended.

    Officials with the National Sports Agency in Havana referred to the largest group defection of Cuban athletes in years as “vile abandonments” involving players of “weak morals and ethics.” The remaining players and coaches returned to Cuba on Monday, October 4, two days after the loss to Colombia, during which 11 of 24 rostered players appeared.

    According to the Periodico Cubano website, the 12 players (all members of Cuban National Series teams) who remained behind in Sonora were LHP Dariel Fernandez (Pinar del Rio), LHP Leinel Zayas (Isla de Juventus), RHP Bryan Chi (Industriales), RHP Luis Dany Morales (Sancti Spiritus), RHP Uber Luis Medina (Santiago de Cuba), C Loidel Rodriguez (Sancti Spiritus), IF Miguel Antonio Gonzalez (Granma), IF Dismany Palacios (Sancti Spiritus), IF Yandy Yanes (Camaguey), OF Geisel Cepeda (Sancti Spiritus), OF Loidel Chapelli, Jr. (Camaguey), and OF Reinaldo Lazaga (Pinar del Rio).

    Gonzalez (.385), Yanez (.333) and Chapelli (.320) were Cuba's top three hitters in World Cup competition Chi went 1-2 with a 4.45 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 11 innings and Zayas struck out both batters faced in his lone appearance. While 11 of the 12 are technically free agents (Cepeda is under contract with Los Mochis of the Mexican Pacific League), all will first have to establish residency in Mexico or another country before being allowed to negotiate with any non-Cuban baseball organization.

    Cuban ballplayers have been defecting from the island nation for years since failed pitcher Fidel Castro took over in 1959 and subsequently ruled that baseball would henceforth be an “amateur” sport. Current Tampa Bay infielder Randy Arozarena defected to Mexico in 2016 after two seasons with Pinar del Rio and spent a year playing in the Mexican League for Tijuana and with Navojoa of the Mexican Pacific League (leading the loop in homers) after signing with St. Louis for $1.25 million. Arozarena still resides in Merida, Yucatan and has stated his desires for Mexican citizenship and a spot on the Mexican National Team. Several Cubans have made Mexico their permanent baseball home, including Ronnier Mustelier, Henry Urrutia, Daniel Carbonell and Elian Leyva.

    A 2018 deal between Cuban authorities and Major League Baseball allowing some players to sign directly with MLB organizations was canceled by then-president Donald Trump, signaling a return to the flotilla method of players leaving the island under the coak of secrecy hoping for higher pay and a better life elsewhere.

    A December 13, 2013 story in England's Guardian newspaper said Cuban star Yuliesky Gurriel (28 at the time and now playing for Houston) had just been given a “huge” standard salary raise to 13,000 Cuban pesos per month, or about US$414 at the time, to play for Sancti Spiritus of the National Series. In 2016, Gurriel signed a five-year, $47.5 million contract with the Astros five months after first defecting from Cuba during the Caribbean Series in the Dominican Republic and then establishing residency in Haiti.

MEX PAC ROAD TRIP (Stop #6): Los Mochis, Sinaloa

    Driving from Navojoa, Sonora 98 miles southbound on Highway 15 for about two hours, our virtual Mexican Pacific League Road Trip takes us into the state of Sinaloa and Los Mochis, our sixth stop and a city with 300,000 metropolitan residents founded in 1893 by Pennsylvanian Benjamin Johnson.

    While it's a wealthy city in a fertile agricultural area, Los Mochis (like most LMP sites) is not geared towards tourism. It's a hub of sorts, connected by ferry to La Paz, Baja California Sur; a busy airport with flights to and from Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tucson; and the western terminus of the legendary Copper Canyon railroad, Mexico’s last major passenger railway featuring one of the most spectacular views in North American train travel.

    Los Mochis sits on the Rio Fuerte, which irrigates an extensive valley region whose main crops are vegetables (e.g., beans and corn) and sugar cane and for which the city is the commercial and financial center, and is 15 miles east of the Gulf of California port of Topolobampo, famous for its shrimp and fishing activity. Among the native animals is the yellow crocodile, which can grow as large as 38.8 feet and weigh over a ton.

    Visitors to town should check out Parque Sinaloa, which contains the most complete collection of palm trees in Mexico, including rare species imported from around the world, and is a great setting for a stroll in the cool of the evening. Parque Sinaloa is set in the old “Colonia Americana” section of Los Mochis, a former residential district for North Americans easily identified by its USA-style architecture featuring brick houses with front porches and yards on all four sides, giving a unique character to Los Mochis rarely seen in Mexico.

    Los Mochis can trace its baseball history to 1947 and the Pericos of the old Pacific coast League, a predecessor to the present-day Mexican Pacific League. The team was renamed Caneros, or “Cane Growers,” in subsequent seasons and after a couple of stops and starts, re-entered winterball for good in 1962. While the Caneros are rarely prime contenders for a title, Mochis has won three LMP pennants: in 1968-69 with manager Ben Valenzuela, 1983-84 under Vinicio Garcia and in 2002-03 for Chico Rodriguez. In two Caribbean Series, the Caneros have gone 4-8.

    The Caneros play home games at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada, which opened in 1947 as Estadio Mochis with a capacity of 4,700 fans. The ballpark has undergone three renovations over the years: One in 1962 included expansion of seating to 6,000 and the addition of lights for night games; another in 1982 after Hurricane Paul devastated the facility nearly doubled the capacity to 11,000 and included a new lighting system; and finally a major 285 million peso upgrade completed in 2018 that raised capacity to 12,000 seats. The ballpark (which was renamed in 1972) has hosted six LMP All-Star Games, ten Mex Pac championship series and the 2015 WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup.

FERMIN NAMED AGUILAS' THIRD SKIPPER IN A MONTH

Felix Fermin looking over his shoulder

The Mexicali Aguilas are on their third manager in a month's time as the Mexican Pacific League fired Juan Castro and replaced him with veteran skipper Felix Fermin.  The move was announced last Friday, just hours before the Aguilas played a game with no fans occupying the stands in Mazatlan (more on that in three paragraphs).

The Aguilas opened the season with former Yankees infielder Luis Sojo as their new manager after Pedro Mere was fired following last season, but Sojo only lasted 16 games before he was canned November 1 with a 7-9 first-half record and replaced by Castro.  The former Dodgers coach, who himself has survived a 2018 for the books (if the book was written by Robert Ripley or maybe Lewis Carroll), lasted exactly four weeks before feeling the axe.  After guiding Mexicali to a 10-7 record the rest of the first half to finish with a fifth-place tie and 4.5 playoff points, Castro was let go when the Aguilas won just two of their first six games of the second stanza to end his term in Mexicali with a 12-12 overall mark.

The former MLB shortstop has a more extensive Mexican League managerial record (with stops in Monterrey, Carmen and Dos Laredos) than the MexPac, but his winterball work in his native Dominican Republic has been impressive.  Fermin has led the Cibaenas Agilas to five Liga Dominica championships and won Caribbean Series titles in 2001, 2003 and 2007.

Jose Angel Chavez managed the Aguilas on an interim basis during their weekend in Mazatlan as Fermin planned to meet his new team in the border city Monday, a day before opening a home series with Obregon.  Mexicali's (and Chavez')  first game against the Venados on Friday night was played without anyone in the stands.  The City of Mazatlan ordered the ballpark closed to the public because of the renovated facility's lack of water and drainage.  Both were shut off early last week because of a reported 3 million peso debt owed by the Venados to state-owned Jumapam, which provides water service to the 16,000-seat venue. 

Thus, on a night in which the other three LMP games each drew over 10,000 spectators, a few warm bodies were in the Teodoro Mariscal grandstand as the Venados lost a 7-5 tilt to Mexicali as Francisco Cordoba socked a homer for the visitors.  The impasse between team and city was resolved over the next day and the ballpark was opened back up with restored  water service in time for Saturday's game, when 7,764 fans watched their Venados top Mexicali, 10-3, with Mitch Lively getting the win to go to 3-1 and Walter Silva relieving (!) the last three innings to earn the save, the three-time All-Star's first since 2003 when he was pitching for Reynosa in the Mexican League (and the first of his 13 seasons of winterball).

Mazatlan won Sunday's game as well to bring their second-half record to 4-5, two games behind defending champion Culiacan, Hermosillo and Obregon, who are all tied for first at 6-3.  Jalisco is fourth with a 5-4 mark while Mexicali, Navojoa and Los Mochis are tied for sixth with 3-6 ledgers.  Obregon had held sole possession of first until dropping a 9-2 home decision to Navojoa Sunday as the Mayos' Jovan Rosa went 4-for-4 with a double, two runs and two RBIs and starter Ruddy Acosta carried a shutout into the ninth inning.  Pablo Ortega, who announced his retirement after 23 years as a pro after the LMB Fall season and took a pitching coach job with the Yaquis under manager Oscar Robles, pitched three scoreless innings of relief for Obregon after starter Nate Reed was knocked out of the box by giving up six runs in three frames.  Culiacan and Hermosillo won their games Sunday to pull into the three-way logjam at the top of the standings. 

LMP STANDINGS (Second Half): Culiacan 6-3, Hermosillo 6-3, Obregon 6-3, Jalisco 5-4, Mazatlan 4-5, Mexicali 3-6, Los Mochis 3-6, Navojoa 3-6. 
LMP BATTING LEADERS
Batting: Jasson Atondo, Hermosillo (.375), Homers: Jovan Rosa, Navojoa (10), Runs Batted In: Manny Rodriguez, Jalisco (38), Stolen Bases: Alonzo Harris, Navojoa (20).
LMP PITCHING LEADERS
Wins: Konner Wade, Mazatlan (5-1), Earned-Run Average: Elian Leyva, Jalisco (1.99), Strikeouts: Javier Solano, Mexicali (44), Saves: Casey Coleman, Culiacan (17).


MICHOACAN GOVERNOR WANTS LMB TEAM IN MORELIA

Morelia's 3,000-seat Estadio Francisco Villa

During last month's Mexican League Assembly of Presidents meeting held in Morelia, Michoacan governor Silvano Aureoles said he would like to see a Mexican League team in his state's capital and largest city.

At first blush, Morelia might seem like a place with decent potential as an LMB market.  A city of 784,776 with deep colonial roots, Morelia has a temperate climate with average daily high temperatures ranging from the upper 70's to mid 80's during baseball season.  The Monarcas Liga MX soccer team is very popular locally, with attendance averaging just under 30,000 per match in last spring's Clausura tournament to rank seventh in the 18-team circuit.  And the governor promised a renovated ballpark for a Mexican League to play in when the time came.  All to the good.

On the other hand, Morelia experiences a rainy season between June and September that brings 5 to 8 inches of the wet stuff monthly.  Unlike soccer, baseball has never been a prominent sport in Michoacan, with 1966 Class A Mexican Central League Tigres representing the city's lone run in organized ball; the 59-79 Tigres drew fewer than 24,000 fans to 69 home game and slunk into oblivion.  Then there's Estadio Francisco Villa, a ballpark built in 1964 with seating for 3,000 in concrete stands that have never been renovated.  Governor Aureoles claimed between 12 and 15 million pesos (approximately 6-8 million US dollars) would be allocated by the state towards stadium upgrades, but that amount may pale in comparison to what will actually be needed to bring a relic to respectability.

While one Puro Beisbol columnist described the Assembly as being "embarrassed" while the subject of Liga baseball in Morelia was being broached, LMB president Javier Salinas seemed enthused by the notion, albeit on a more practical level.  Salinas said that if their ballpark was fixed up, Morelia could see the development of a baseball academy, exhibition games involving Liga clubs or the Mexican National Team and a franchise in the Mexican Winter League, but "we need entrepreneurs to invest."  According to Salinas, the LIM is taking this winter off for restructuring.  "It was a league that was working, but not as we wanted, nor with the standards that Major League Baseball demands, so this year we decided to interrupt it to reorganize and give it more continuity next year."

For his part, Aureoles said he had been in discussions with Assembly chair Gerardo Benavides (owner of both the Monclova Acereros and the now-dormant Puebla Pericos) about purchasing an existing LMB team to bring to Morelia, perhaps the Pericos themselves.  Benavides has put the Puebla franchise up for sale the past several months, asking 50 to 55 million pesos ($2.6-2.9 million in US dollars) but finding no takers.  According to Proceso's Beatriz Pereyra, Aureoles called purchasing the 2016 champion Pericos "an option.  I would be delighted if Gerardo thought of selling the team to Michoacan," adding that entrepreneurs would be needed to "guarantee" the franchise would last in Morelia.  Benavides did not deny the two sides had been in talks.  Referring to his own difficulties in owning teams in both Puebla and his hometown of Monclova, Benavides said, "The only thing I ask is for people to be from here so they have room to maneuver and be successful."

"There is one thing we all need to understand: Owners must live in that city."


VILLANUEVA SIGNS WITH JAPANESE TEAM, LEAVES YAQUIS

Christian Villanueva: The newest Yomiuri Giant

After cracking 20 homers as a rookie for San Diego in 2018, Mexico-born third baseman Christian Villanueva will be playing in Japan next year.  After designating him for assignment, the Padres sold Villanueva's contract to Toyko's Yomiuri Giants, who then signed the 27-year-old Guadalajara native for one year at a reported $2 million (including a signing bonus).  Winners of 36 Central League pennants and 22 Japan Series since their 1936 inception, the Giants finished third in NPB's Central League this year with a 67-71 record.  Former Brewers infielder Casey McGehee and onetime Dodgers outfielder Alex Guerrero were the team's two foreign position players last summer.

Villanueva played in both the Cubs and Rangers systems before signing with the Padres as a free agent prior to the 2017 season.  Playing for El Paso in the AAA Pacific Coast League, he hit .296 with 20 homers and 86 RBIs in 109 games before being called up to San Diego.  After going 0-for-3 his first two games, Villanueva cracked four homers over his next seven contests and finished his September call-up with a .344 average and seven RBIs over 12 games.

Villanueva followed up his late-season debut with a strong start to the 2018 season for the Padres, hitting .321 with eight homers in April alone, but cooled off considerably over the next three months before a strong August brought his numbers up until a fractured finger in an August 21 game against the Rockies ended his season.  He hit .236 over 110 games for the Friars (including a sizzling .336 against lefties), with 15 doubles, 20 homers and 46 RBIs, striking out 104 times in 384 plate appearances.  The 5'11", 210-pounder was sometimes shaky in the hot corner, committing 12 errors at third over 96 contests to finish with a .948 fielding percentage.

After playing five winters in Obregon (including a breakout 2015-16 campaign during which he hit .322 with 9 homers for the Yaquis in 64 games), Villanueva sat out last season but returned to the Cajeme club this winter to rehab his finger while his status was being worked out.  He was batting .227 with three homers in eleven games when the Japan deal was made, doubling and walking against Navojoa last Friday in his last home game for the Yaquis.

All-Star benefit games played in Culiacan, Monterrey

The benefit All-Star baseball series jointly organized by the Mexican League and Mexican Pacific League is in the history books, with the two teams splitting games in Culiacan and Monterrey over the weekend while, more importantly, raising money for relief efforts in the wake of September's devastating earthquakes in the southern portion of the country.  According to Puro Beisbol columnist Hector Bencomo (and partly confirmed in a comment below by BBM reader Bob Broughton in Guanajuato), about 7,000 fans turned out for Saturday's game in Culiacan while 12,000 were in the stands in Monterrey on Sunday.

Walter Silva was tabbed by manager Daniel Fernandez to start for the Red team in Saturday's opener in Culiacan while hometown lefty Danny Rodriguez received the nod from Green skipper Pedro Mere.  A third-inning single to Luis Garcia that plated the game's first run to give the Rojos an early lead, but the Verdes fought back with three runs off Red reliever Fabian Cota on an Eduardo Arredondo single, Carlos Gastelum sacrifice fly and a double by ex-MLBer Jorge Cantu.  The Greens scored four more runs in the bottom of the fourth, courtesy of a Gastelum single, a two-run single by Yordanys Linares and another RBI safety from Jose Amador.  Arned with a 7-1 advantage, five Verdes relievers were able to shut out the Rojos the rest of the way to preserve the win.  Rodriguez was given the win for the Greens while Cota took the loss for the Reds.

The Rojos came back from Saturday's loss with a 6-1 triumph over the Greens in Monterrey Sunday.  The Verdes took an early lead in the first inning when Eduardo singled off Rojos starter Edgar Gonzalez to drive in Ramon Rios with the game's first run.  Green starter Pablo Ortega pitched two scoreless innings as the Verdes held their precarious 1-0 lead until the fifth inning, when the Rojos scored four runs to take the lead. An Antonio Lamas RBI single tied the game for the Reds and Garcia's safety drove in the go-ahead (and game-winning) run.  Ricardo Valenzuela's sacrifice fly brought in Lamas to make it a 3-1 game, and Alex Gonzalez scored Garcia with a single to put the Reds up 4-1.  Jesse Castillo belted the only home run of the series in the seventh, giving the Rojos a four-run lead, and Garcia's later RBI single provided the Reds with their final margin of victory.  Reliever Marco Carrillo earned the win for the Rojos while Ozzie Mendez absorbed the loss.

While neither contest was particularly competitive, fans in both Culiacan and Monterrey were treated to games featuring many of the top performers in Mexican baseball while raising funds for the crucial relief efforts (BBM readers wishing to do so can click on the Salvation Army icon atop the right-hand column on this site).  The following are pictures from both nights taken off the LMP and LMB websites:

Puro Beisbol will be hosting a celebrity softball game of their own on Wednesday night in Mazatlan.  That tilt was originally organized as a fundraiser to help pay medical expenses for retired Mexican ballplayers such as ex-pitcher Juan Manuel Palafox, who ended up comatose in a Guadalajara hospital after initially suffering a burst bowel in early 2016.  Palafox is recovering, but he lacks a pension from either the LMB or LMP to help pay his considerable medical expenses, a condition that has repeated itself a number of times with former players south of the border.  While the Puro Beisbol benefit has been revised to be an earthquake relief fundraiser, their efforts on behalf of old ballplayers

Yucatan holds off Leon to reach South finals; TJ up 3 to 2

Diego Madero's two-run homer highlighted Yucatan's three-run eighth inning as the Leones outlasted the Leon Bravos, 5-4, Friday night in Leon to complete a four-game sweep in their Mexican League South Division semifinal playoff series.  Yucatan advances to play defending champion Puebla in the LMB South championship series.  The Pericos needed just four games to eliminte Quintana Roo in the first round.

In the LMB North semifinals, the Tijuana Toros pulled away from the Aguascalientes Rieleros, 11-4, Friday in Aguascalientes to take a 3-games-to-2 lead in that set.  The visitors kept the basepaths busy with eleven hits while drawing eight walks from Rieleros pitchers as leadoff batter Jose Guadalupe Chavez reached base four times, scored twice and drove in three runs.  The winner of this series will meet Monterrey in the LMB North finals.  The Sultanes swept Monclova earlier this week.

There'll be no action Saturday as the Toros and Rieleros travel to Tijuana for Sunday's Game Six.

Yucatan 5-7-0, LEON 4-14-3
W-Barraza (1-0).  L-W. Silva (0-1).  Sv-Belisario (2).  A-6,894.  T-3:15.
A pitcher's duel between veteran hurlers Jonathan Castellanos of Yucatan and Leon's Walter Silva through seven innings ended with both teams combining for seven runs over the final two entradas as Yucatan held off Leon, 5-4, in front of a season-high crowd of 6,894 in Leon.  Leon took a 1-0 lead in the third when Junior Lake doubled in Eduardo Arredondo from second, but Yucatan tied it up in the fifth after leadoff hitter Jose Aguilar reached base on a fielding error by Bravos third baseman Miguel Terrero and eventually scored on a bloop single by Leo Heras.  The score remained knotted at 1-1 until the top of the eighth, when Ivan Araujo singled one out before Madero took Silva deep with a line-drive homer to left for Yucatan.  Ricky Alvarez later doubled in Juan Francisco off reliever Fredy Quintero to give the visitors a 4-1 lead.  Leon scored twice in the eighth on RBI singles by Torrero and Brandon Macias, but Yucatan went up 5-3 in the ninth when Sebastian Valle scored on a Gerardo Sanchez wild pitch to Heras.  Niko Vasquez doubled in Dan Johnson in the bottom of the ninth to bring Leon to within a run, but Yucatan closer Ronald Belisario got the final two outs for the save and win.  The Bravos actually outhit the Leones, 14-to-7, but only hit 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men stranded on base.

Tijuana 11-11-0, AGUASCALIENTES 4-9-1
W-Mitre (1-0).  L-L. Castro (0-2).  A-6,645.  T-3:43.
The top four batters in the Tijuana order combined for eight hits, four runs and nine RBIs as the visiting Toros broke a 4-4 tie with a single run in the top of the fourth and pulled away from Aguascalientes, 11-4, Friday in Aguascalientes.  Leadoff hitter Jose Guadalupe Chavez was the primary pest for TJ, going 2-for-4 with a pair of walks, scoring twice and driving in three more runs.  Roberto Lopez scored the eventual game-winning run for Tijuana in the top of the fourth when he reached base on a fielder's choice grounder to Rieleros pitcher Linder Castro, advanced to second on a passed ball by catcher Carlos Rodriguez and came in when Corey Brown's grounder found its way to left field.  The Toros then scored twice in the sixth and four times in the seventh (with Lopez punching a two-run double) to put the game away.  Former Yankees pitcher Sergio Mitre replaced starter Carlos Hernandez in the third inning and tossed four innings of one-hit shutout ball for the TJ win.  Castro, who relieved Rieleros starter Francisco del Rosario in the third, gave up a pair of runs in 2.2 innings to take the loss.

Mayora falls one game short of Liga hit streak record

Durango Generales third baseman Daniel Mayora went 0-for-2 in a Tuesday night home game against Leon to see his hitting streak come to an end at 35 games.  Mayora's skein brought him to within one game of tying the Mexican League record of 36 consecutive games with a hit, set in 2000 by third baseman Luis de los Santos of Saltillo and tied by Quintana Roo second sacker Carlos Gastelum in 2012.

Mayora's last hitless game had come on May 5 against Union Laguna during the Generales' first-ever homestand following a month of games on the road to open the season while Estadio Francisco Villa was undergoing renovations needed to host the former Carmen Delfines.  The streak opened one night later when Mayora topped an Enrique Legucha pitch to send a slow roller to third and beat Jaime Pedroza's throw to first for an infield single for his only safety in a 1-for-5 outing.  Not the most auspicious start, perhaps, but from that game forward, Mayora went more than six weeks without being held hitless while seeing his batting average rise from .323 to a .363 mark.  Until Tuesday.

Batting in the cleanup slot, Mayora had no luck against Leon's crafty veteran starter Walter Silva, lining out to right fielder Junior Lake to open the second inning, drawing an inning-opening walk in the fourth and grounding out to third baseman Miguel Torrero to lead off the bottom of the seventh.  Mayora's last chance for a hit came in the ninth with the score tied at 2-2, but had the bat taken out of his hands when Leon reliever Fernando Villalobos intentionally walked him to set up a double play after Henry A. Rodriguez had bunted Daniel Nunez from first to second base.  That strategy became moot two batsmen later when Jairo Perez launched a three-run walkoff homer to give the Generales a 5-2 win.

The versatile Mayora, who can also play second base and shortstop when not manning the hot corner, is in his first Mexican League season but is no rookie.  The 5'11" product of Venezuela, who'll turn 32 next month, is a case study in persistence.  Mayora signed with Colorado as a free agent in 2005 and began his pro career with the Rockies' Casper affiliate in the rookie Pioneer League, hitting .263 with 1 homer.  Mayora spent a total of six season in the Colorado system, reaching as high as AA Tulsa, topping the .300 mark twice while being named to the Northwest League All-Star Team in 2006 and getting a South Atlantic League All-Star Team berth in 2007.

He opted for free agency after the 2010 season and began to bounce around the minors, first by signing on with Tampa Bay and splitting 2011 between Rays affiliates in AA Montgomery and AAA Durham and batting a combined .288 with 9 homers while being tabbed for the Southern League All-Star Game.  Mayora then inked a free agent deal with San Francisco for 2012 and hit .281 at AA Richmond, earning a nod for the Eastern League All-Star Game that year (his fifth such selection in six years).

Even so, the Giants released him the next March and he ended up spending 2013 with Bridgeport of the independent Atlantic League and hit .306 for the Bluefish, earning yet another All-Star Game call. That was enough for the Dodgers to sign him after the season and ship him to AA Chattanooga in 2014, where Mayora posted a .302 average with the Lookouts.  He spent yet another year in AA for the 2015 campaign, this time for the Dodgers' Tulsa farm club, and batted .248 while battling injuries.

Once again, the 5'11" infielder chose free agency after the season but this time signed on with Rimini of the Italian Baseball League for 2016 and hit .311 in 33 games to finish eleventh in the batting race for the Coppa Italia champions.  Mayora has also spent nine seasons with the Caracas of the Venezuelan Winter League, batting .281 for the Leones over that span.  His career average at all levels since 2005 is .294 over 1,523 games with 105 homers and 135 stolen bases.

It's been a long and winding road for Daniel Mayora, who's making the most of his first Mexican League campaign.  He appeared in his seventh All-Star Game in six leagues Sunday in Campeche, grounding out to short in his only plate appearance after replacing Tijuana's Alex Liddi at third base in the fifth inning.  He was batting .364 (eighth in the LMB) after going 2-for-3 in Durango's 4-1 win over Leon Wednesday night.

Octet of fortysomethings still playing, producing in Liga

Of the literally hundreds of baseball books I've read over the years, "Some Are Called Clowns" remains one of my all-time favorites.  Written by pitcher-manager Bill Heward, who is now a professor at Ohio State University, the book is a diary of the 1973 season with the Indianapolis Clowns, the last of the great barnstorming teams before finally folding in 1989. The Clowns, whose alumni includes one Henry Aaron, had integrated by 1973.  A player who came and went that year called himself Jim King, and one chapter was devoted to King's travails in baseball, including his experience in Mexico.  It was my first exposure to the Mexican League beyond The Sporting News Baseball Guides of the era and that chapter sparked an interest in Mexican baseball that obviously has continued to this day.

One quote from Heward struck me as a 15-year-old and has stayed with me.  King was using an assumed name and shaved years off his age to make himself look more attractive to MLB scouts, but Heward said about King's time in Mexico, "Jim wasn't worried about anyone checking his age. Mexican style baseball bears only slight resemblance to U.S. big league operations.  They didn't care, for instance, how old anyone was, so long as they could do the job."  Which makes total sense if you think about it. Minnie Minoso (pictured) extended his playing career nine summers in the Mexican League with Jalisco and Union Laguna.  The Vaqueros were less concerned about the 50 years he had reportedly spent on this earth than they were about the 12 homers and 83 RBIs that Minoso (who belongs in Cooperstown) brought them in 1973, his final season.  The bottom line in Mexico: If you can still play, why shouldn't you?

Fast forward to 2017, and it's apparent that philosophy is still alive and well in the LMB, where no fewer than eight players age 40 and over are not only still in uniform, but in most cases are contributing to their team's fortunes.  Reference was made to this octet of active fortysomethings (six of them pitchers) in a recent Puro Beisbol column written by editor Fernando Ballesteros, so why not take a look in BBM at how they're doing thus far during the current season?

RAFAEL DIAZ (Age 46), Tijuana Toros pitcher
A 5'11" right-hander, Diaz is the only pitcher in Liga history to top the 100 mark in both wins (107) and saves (105) for his career.  He's gone back and forth between the starting rotation and bullpen over the years, serving Pedro Mere's Toros as a starter in 2017.  Diaz is currently 2-2 with a 3.91 ERA over 46 innings pitched this year, his 20th in the LMB, striking out 33 while walking just 10 batsmen.  He saw his ERA go up from 3.14 to 3.91 after being touched for five runs in seven innings last Saturday in Durango, but the wily veteran has more than held his own as the league's oldest player.

GAUDENCIO AGUIRRE (44), Durango Generales pitcher
Currently in his 23rd Liga campaign, Aguirre has never been a star so much as an effective middleman over the past several years after being both a starter and closer earlier in his career.  The Veracruz native has not started a game since 2002, making his 12-1 record for Monterrey in 2007 all the more remarkable.  His career record in the LMB is 82-61 with 97 saves.  This year, Aguirre's numbers are so-so with an 0-1 record and 4.64 ERA in 26 trips from the bullpen, but his ERA ranks fifth on manager Joe Alvarez' pitching staff.  It's been a season of surprises in Durango, but Aguirre is pretty much doing what he's always done.

FRANCISCO CAMPOS (44), Campeche Piratas pitcher
The man they call "Pancho Ponches" keeps rolling along, although he did miss six weeks to injury in April and May.  A product of Guaymas, Campos (like Aguirre) is in his 23rd LMB season, all with Campeche except for five starts (all wins) while on loan to Monterrey in 2007.  He's 0-2 in five starts this year, but his 4.01 ERA is competitive in the Liga and with 16 strikeouts in 24.2 innings, Campos can still get those ponches and he held Veracruz to one run in six innings with five K's last Tuesday. With career marks of 190-132 and 2,098 strikeouts, Salon de la Fama membership for Campos is almost certain.

RUBEN RIVERA (43), Monclova Acereros rightfielder
Yes, THAT Ruben Rivera.  After spending time in MLB with five teams (including the Yanks and Padres) between 1995 and 2003, hitting .216 with 64 homers and 50 steals in 662 games, the Panamanian is in his 13th Mexican League season.  Rivera had some great years with Campeche and was a starter for last year's LMB pennant winners in Puebla before joining the mass exodus of players from the Pericos to Monclova.  He's only batting .234 with three homers in 41 games for the Acereros, but has gone 5-for-7 in stolen bases and has hit .333 over his last ten games.  Rivera was at .198 on May 19 but is apparently not done yet.

MARIO IVAN SANTANA (41), Monclova Acereros catcher
Just two weeks past his 41st birthday, Santana has carved a niche in the LMB as a solid catcher who's been a starter in the past but more typically a backup, a guy who can hit a little (.273 over his first 22 seasons) with some gap power while being hard to strike out.  The Chihuahua-born receiver, who's played in three All-Star Games and was a member of last year's Puebla title team (for whom he played 31 games of errorless ball in the regular season and hit .295), can also handle a pitching staff.  Santana is only batting .192 in 13 games for Monclova this year, however, and appears to be approaching the end of the line.

PABLO ORTEGA (40), Quintana Roo Tigres pitcher
While there's been some housecleaning going on in Cancun in the early stages of the Valenzuela Era, one longtime vet who's stayed with the Tigres is Pablo Ortega.  And why not?  The 19th-year vet, 14 with the Tigres, is tied for fourth in the LMB in wins (with a 6-2 record, winning his last two starts), fourth in ERA at 2.69 and is second to Yucatan ace Yoanner Negrin with a 1.16 WHIP.  Pablo is obviously still a good pitcher and a durable one, averaging 6.7 innings over ten starts.  He can still throw strikes, with 36 K's and just 12 walks over 67 innings. The best move Fernando Jr. may have made was NOT releasing this guy.

OSCAR ROBLES (40), Tijuana Toros third baseman
MLB fans who remember Robles from his short time as a starter at both shortstop and third base with the Dodgers in 2005, hitting .272 with 5 homers in 110 games that year, might be surprised that he's considered one of Mexico's best-hitting infielders in modern times.  Heading into the current season with Tijuana, Robles had a career .336 average with 72 homers over 14 LMB seasons, including eleven .300+ campaigns.  While the hometown product, who'll be retiring after the season, is "only" hitting .274 with no homers and 8 ribbies in 24 games, he's got a .384 OBP with 13 walks and 4 strikeouts in 86 plate appearances.  He's still useful.

WALTER SILVA (40), Leon Bravos pitcher
Despite all the problems experienced in Leon both on and off the field in 2017 (as chronicled in Wednesday's BBM post), Silva has not let it bother his pitching.  His record is a deceiving 3-6, as evinced by a 2.86 ERA that ranks fifth in the Liga while his 1.29 WHIP is tied for 12th.  Silva is in his 15th LMB season, 11 of those with Monterrey, and while some years have been better than others, he entered the season with a career 85-76 record and three past All-Star selections. Started for the Padres in the first game at New York's Citi Field in 2009, the only year since 2002 Silva has NOT pitched in the Mexican League.

While I won't say that 40 is the new 30, most of the eight above players have remained productive Mexican League ballplayers into their fifth decade of life (and most in their third decade in pro ball).  Returning to the question, "If you can still play, why shouldn't you?"  In Mexico, you can and these guys still do.  More power to 'em.

-Bruce

Caneros blank Venados, 3-0; defending champs facing elimination

Luis Niebla and MLB vet Sergio Romo combined to spin a five-hit shutout as the Los Mochis Caneros defeated the Mazatlan Venados, 3-0, Wednesday night in Mazatlan to take a commanding 3-games-to-0 lead in their Mexican Pacific League first round playoff series.  One more loss would close out a first-round loss for the defending league and Caribbean Series champions.  Elsewhere in LMP playoff action, Culiacan outlasted Hermosillo, 8-7, to take a 2-games-to-1-lead in their best-of-7 set while Mexicali went one up in their series with top seed Navojoa by slipping past the Mayos, 2-3, Wednesday in the border city.  Game Four for all three series will be played Thursday night.


Los Mochis 3-10-0, MAZATLAN 0-5-2

Former Twins and Orioles outfielder Lew Ford's third inning double plated Eugenio Velez with the only run Los Mochis would need as the Caneros went on to whitewash the defending champs, 3-0, in front of 9,761 fans at Mazatlan's Estadio Teodoro Mariscal.  The Venados now face the daunting task of winning four straight games to win the series, although a couple of wins might be enough to advance them to the semifinals as the so-called "lucky loser" entry.

The 40-year-old Ford (pictured), who's spent most of the past four summers playing independent ball with Long Island of the Atlantic League since he last appeared in MLB with Baltimore in 2012, went on to put up a 4-for-5 night at the play for Mochis, added an RBI in the top of the ninth one inning after Saul Soto's single brought in J.C. Linares with the Caneros' second score of the night.  Soto and Jesus Arredondo each had two singles for Mochis.  Catcher Erick Rodriguez, not known for his bat, had three of Mazatlan's five hits while Cyle Hankerd and Carlos Munoz each singled but only one Venados baserunner reached second base all game.

It was a game for pitchers, however, as Niebla and Romo combined for eight strikeouts and walked only two Venados batsmen.  Niebla went eight innings for the win, allowing four hits and whiffing seven, while Romo picked up his second save of the series by pitching a scoreless ninth in his effort to draw an offer from an MLB organization as a free agent after nine years, three World Series titles and an All-Star Game appearance with the San Francisco Giants.  Walter Silva pitched in lard luck for Mazatlan, letting in no earned runs (Velez reached base on an error in the third) and scattering six hits and two walks over six innings of work in a very creditable start.


Culiacan 8-11-0, HERMOSILLO 7-9-2

Unlike the Los Mochis-Mazatlan game, pitchers didn't have a lot of say in Culiacan's 8-7 win in Hermosillo Wednesday night with a sellout crowd of 16,329 clicking the turnstiles at Estadio Sonora.  Not that there weren't a lot of pitchers involved, as the two teams combined to send 14 hurlers to the mound while 15 runs and 20 hits were piled up on the night.

A Joey Meneses single off Hermosillo starter Juan Pablo Oramas drove in Maxwell Leon (son of former MLB pitcher Maximino Leon) with the game's first run for Culiacan in the top of the first inning, followed by a Ramiro Pena sacrifice fly that brought Ryan Lollis in from third for the Tomateros' second run.  Efren Navarro's homer off Culiacan's Patrick McCoy put the Naranjeros on the board, but Culiacan scored twice in the third on Issmael Salas' two-run homer and three more in the top of the fifth when Jose Manuel Rodriguez socked a two-run homer of his own and Salas singled in Meneses to make it a 7-1 Tomateros lead.  Then things got interesting, as Hermosillo batted around the order and scored five runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth, with O'Koyea Dickson's three-run longball off reliever Juan Ramon Noriega's third pitch the key blow.  Pena singled in Lollis in the top of the sixth to make it an 8-6 Culiacan lead and while Hermosillo scored once more in the bottom of the seventh, they couldn't draw even as the Tomateros hung on for the win to go up 2-games-to-1 in the series.

David Goforth pitched two scoreless innings in relief for Culiacan and was credited with the win.  McCoy was pulled after allowing the first three Hermosillo batters reach base in the fifth (all scored).  Goforth was one of seven relievers trotted out by Tomateros manager Che Reyes.  Oramas, who led the LMP in earned-run average much of the regular season, absorbed the loss for the Naranjeros by giving up five runs in 4+ frames himself.  Culiacan now leads the series, 2 games to 1.


MEXICALI 3-7-0, Navojoa 2-6-2

Veteran centerfielder Chris Roberson's three-run homer in the second inning held up as Mexicali went on to a 3-2 win over regular season champ Navojoa with 12,387 onlookers at La Nida (The Nest) in the border city.  The win puts the Aguilas up 2-games-to-1 in their first-round series.

MexPac batting champ Luis Juarez opened the bottom of the second with a double off Navojoa starter Zack Dodson, who then got Xorge Carrillo to line out to second and struck out Jon Del Campo to come to within one out of escaping the frame unscathed.  Dodson walked Ramon Rios, however, sending Roberson to the plate.  After watching the first pitch for a called strike, Roberson lofted a fly ball over the head of Mayos left fielder Christian Zazueta that landed in the seats to put the Eagles up 3-0.  It was an atonement of sorts for Roberson after the 2014 Caribbean Series MVP committed two errors on one fly ball in Mexicali's 7-6 knucklebiter win in Navojoa on Monday.  Navojoa came back in the top of the fifth when Alan Sanchez doubled in Quincy Latimore for one run and Fernando Flores scored from third on Zazueta's groundout, but that would be all the scoring for the night as five relievers would follow Mexicali starter Efren Delgado to post zeros over the Mayos' final four innings.

Delgado ended up with the win after going five frames and allowing both Mayos runs on three hits, striking out seven batters and walking just one.  Dodson took the loss for Navojoa, throwing 91 pitches over 5.1 innings, allowing seven hits (including Roberson's dinger) and walking three.  Jake Sanchez' dominance from the bullpen during the regular season has carried over into the playoffs as well, with the Californian sealing the win with 1.1 unblemished innings for his second save of the series.  Sanchez has now allowed one earned run (and four walks) in 34 innings over 32 combined trips from the pen for manager Roberto Vizcarra's Aguilas.

Mazatlan bops Mexicali, 7-1, in MexPac opener

The Mazatlan Venados took an early 2-0 lead and went on to defeat the visiting Mexicali Aguilas, 7-1, Tuesday night in the Mexican Pacific League's season opener.  A packed house of 15,320 was on hand at Mazatlan's Estadio Teodoro Mariscal.

The Venados scored the first two runs of the MexPac season in the bottom of the second, when former Angels farmhand Brian Hernandez (pictured, with AA Arkansas), who hit .280 with 8 homers for Laguna in the LMB over the summer, followed a walk to Corey Brown by lining a two-run homer to center field off Aguilas srarter Edgar Osuna.

Mexicali got one run back in the top of the fourth, when Xavier Paul's bases-loaded, fielder's-choice grounder to Mazatlan first sacker Cyle Hankerd plated Ramon Rios from third as Hankerd threw to second to force Yuniesky Betancourt. However, the Venados broke things open in the bottom of the sixth with five runs, keyed by back-to-back two-run doubles by Heber Gomez and Samar Leyva.  From that point on, the Mazatlan bullpen blanked the Aguilas the rest of the way.

Venerable Mazatlan starter Walter Silva went five innings for the host team, allowing one run on four hits and striking out three Mexicali batters.  A Mazatlan native who pitched for San Diego in 2009, Silva turns 40 in January.  This is his eleventh winter with the Venados.  Osuna, another Mazalteco, lasted five innings, allowing two runs on three hits with six whiffs to take the loss in a hard-luck start.

Mazatlan has been receiving a little more attention than usual from the baseball world this year.  Besides the Venados' status as defending LMP and Caribbean Series champions, a new 17,000-seat ballpark is planned for north of the city's Zona Dorado tourist enclave while Yucatan Leones owners Juan Jose and Eric Arellano have been interested in bringing a Mexican League team to their hometown, and recently purchased full ownership of the Laguna Vaqueros.  If the Vaqueros were brought west, Mazatlan would become the first city in Mexico (and possibly the continent) to host professional baseball year-round, although such a development is no sure thing.

The rest of the LMP swings into action Wednesday night.

Liga vets Quintero, Silva dealt to new teams

Two longtime veterans of the Mexican baseball wars have been sent to new teams this week.  On Monday, the Monterrey Sultanes loaned Edgar Quintero (pictured) to LMB North rivals Saltillo.  One day later, Tijuana dealt venerable pitcher Walter Silva to the Laguna Vaqueros for catcher Gilberto Galaviz.

Now 38, the lefty-batting Quintero hit .315 for Monterrey in 68 games.  He broke in with the Sultanes in 1997 and, except for one year in Puebla, has spent his entire career with Monterrey.  Quintero has yet to play this season, in which he entered 11 hits shy of 1,500 for his LMB career and needs 20 homers to reach 250 lifetime in the Liga.

The 39-year-old Silva is another former fixture in Monterrey, spending all or part of twelve seasons in Sultanes togs before being dealt to Tijuana in 2014.  The right-hander has gone 12-18 over the past two summers for the Toros and owns a lifetime 74-66 LMB record, reaching double-figure win totals in three seasons. Silva pitched six games for the San Diego Padres in 2009, losing twice.

Two other LMB vets landed with new teams earlier in the week.  Outfielder Willy Taveras signed as a free agent with the Puebla Pericos while catcher Adan Munoz was loaned to Reynosa by the Tjuana Toros.  Taveras led the National League in stolen bases with 67 swipes for the Rockies in 2008.  He hit .316 with 11 homers for Puebla in 2014 and spent most of last year with Sugar Land in the independent Atlantic League.

Munoz, who turned 38 last month, made his Liga debut in 1998 with Monclova, batting .348 in 22 games.  While he's only topped the .300 threshhold three times since then, the 6'2" 215-pound Sonora native has built a reputation as a timely hitter with some power and a tough catcher who is not one to be messed with.  It may be interesting to see how well he works with Kyle Farnsworth in Reynosa.

Mazatlan posts second straight shutout; one win from MexPac flag

Ageless Walter Silva (pictured) turned in another quality start and Paul Leon had two hits, including an RBI double, as the Mazatlan Venados registered their second consecutive shutout over the Mexicali Aguilas, 2-0, Sunday to take a commanding 3-games-to-1 lead in the Mexican Pacific League championship series.

The two teams swapped zeroes into the fifth inning.  Mazatlan starter Walter Silva tossed four frames of one-hit shutout ball while Mexicali opener Marco Duarte lived dangerously, allowing six hits and a walk through four innings without getting nicked for a run.  Duarte began the bottom of the fifth by walking Erick Rodriguez and giving up a Paul Leon single, leading Aguilas skipper Edgar Gonzalez to bring Manuel Chavez in from the bullpen.  Jeremias Pineda moved Rodriguez and Leon up with a sacrifice bunt and then Justin Greene was intentionally walked to load the bases.  Esteban Quiroz then lifted a sacrifice fly to Alex Liddi in right, bringing Rodriguez in with the game's first run.

The Venados stretched their lead to 2-0 in the sixth when a Leon double to center off Francisco Rodriguez brought pinch-runner Jose Figueroa in from second.  Mazatlan threatened to burst the dam by loading the bases, but Jake Sanchez got Greene to tap the ball back to the mound for an inning-ending toss to first for the out. After that, it was a matter of collecting the final nine Aguilas outs as Jesus Barraza, Sergio Valenzuela and Steven Hensley combined to throw three innings of one-hit shutout ball, with Hensley inducing Yuniesky Betancourt into flying out to Pinedas in right to end the game.

Leon's two hits led Mazatlan.  Four different players had hits for Mexicali, with Ramon Urias and Jon Del Campo contributing doubles, but the Aguilas had a second straight bad night in the clutch by going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position as Mexicali's scoreless streak hit 20 innings.  Although Silva spun those sparkling front four frames, Jesus Sanchez pitched a scoreless fifth and earned the win.  Hensley picked up his sixth postseason save.  Duarte suffered the loss for Mexicali.

Game Four is scheduled for Monday in Mazatlan.  Javier Solano is the expected starter for Mexicali while manager Juan Jose Pacho will send out Amilcar Gaxiola.

MAZATLAN 2-9-1, Mexicali 0-4-0
W-J. Sanchez (1-0).  L-Duarte (1-2).  T-3:14.  A-14,950.

MexPac Playoff Scoreboard: MON, Jan. 18. 2016

The Mexican Pacific League's 2016 championship series is set after a pair of tight games decided the semifinals Monday night, with a pair of Mexican baseball veterans playing lead roles.

Mazatlan held off Obregon, 2-1, behind the pitching of 39-year-old Walter Silva while Navojoa and Mexicali carried their 3-3 tilt through six hours and 16 innings until 36-year-old Chris Roberson (pictured) crossed the plate on a disputed tag play to send the Aguilas to the title set against the Venados. The visiting team had won all encounters in both seven-game semifinal series before Mexicali's win.

The championship series will begin Wednesday night in Mexicali.

MEXICALI 4-12-1, Navojoa 3-10-1 (16)  
W-Lozoya (1-0).  L-T. Solis (1-1).  T-6:02.  A-17,000.

The two teams played past 1:30 in the morning until the score was finally settled in the bottom of the sixteenth inning when Roberson lined a one-out single into left field, moved from first two third on a Yuniesky Betancourt single, then scored the winning run when C.J. Retherford tapped a sacrifice bunt that dribbled down the first-base line.  Mayos first baseman Jesse Castillo tagged Retherford out before throwing to catcher Fernando Flores, who put the tag on the incoming Roberson.  Home plate umpire Jaime Gutierrez ruled Roberson safe with the game-winning run, which drew a protest from Navojoa manager Enrique "Che" Reyes.  Video replays were determined to uphold the call on the field, ending the six-hour marathon and sending the Aguilas to the final series.

Jose Amador opened the scoring for Navojoa by driving in Carlos Moncrief with a two-out double in the bottom of the first inning.  The Aguilas evened things up in the bottom of the entrada when Roberson singled, stole second and scored on Betancourt's single to left field.  Navojoa regained the lead in the third on a Quincy Latimore sacrifice fly that brought Moncrief in from third and it became a 3-1 Mayos advantage in the fifth as Nate Tenbrink scored on Jesse Castillo's sac fly.

Mexicali leveled the score in the sixth after Retherford was plunked by an Eddie Gamboa pitched when Luis Juarez then launched a 2-and-1 Gamboa pitch over the center field wall to bring the score to 3-3.  Then it was an exchange of zeroes for both sides into the sixteenth.

Tomas Solis, ordinarily a starter, was pressed into late duty and ended up taking the loss even though he'd been replaced by Ruddy Acosta when Roberson charged in from third.  Yair Lozoyo pitched two scoreless innings to get the win for the Aguilas.
__________________________________________________________________

Mazatlan 2-12-1, OBREGON 1-4-0
W-Silva (1-1).  L-D. Reyes (1-1).  T-2:58.  A-14,517.

Veteran pitcher Walter Silva and three relievers combined to carry a three-hit shutout two hits into the ninth inning as Mazatlan defeated Obregon, 2-1, to win Game Seven of their LMP semifinal series in a set in which the visiting team won every game.

The Venados scored twice in the top of the second inning when Jesus Fabela and Jeremias Pineda hit RBI singles off Yaquis starter David Reyes, giving Silva all the support he'd need. The right-hander, who turned 39 on January 4, gave up singles to Daniel Castro and Carlos Valencia over 6.2 innings of work, striking out five and walking none.  Of Silva's 97 pitches, 61 were for strikes.  

Closer Steven Hensley allowed a two-out solo homer to Obregon's Alex Liddi to spoil the whitewash bid, but then induced dangerous Dustin Martin to tap a comebacker to the mound that Hensley tossed to Cyle Hankerd at first for the final out of the series.  It was a tough night for the Yaquis, who only advanced one baserunner as far as second base before Liddi's longball broke their scoreless spell.

Fabela, Esteban Quiroz and Erick Rodriguez each had two of Mazatlan's 12 hits on the night as Reyes lasted just two innings, giving up six safeties and both Mazatlan runs.  The Yaquis bullpen did a splendid job over the game's final seven frames, butthe cavalry didn't make it to the plate until the battle was all but done.

MEXPAC PLAYOFF SCOREBOARD: Friday, 1/1/16

Pitching was the order of the night for Friday's slate of Game One play in the Mexican Pacific League's first round of playoffs.

Javier Solano of Mexicali and Mazatlan's Walter Silva (pictured) both turned in top-notch starts for their teams while Navojoa's Eddie Gamboa and Jalisco's Terance Marin acquitted themselves decently, especially Marin.  However, the night ended with the swing of the bat from one of Mexico's most solid veteran second basemen, Obregon's Carlos Valencia.

MAZATLAN 4-7-1, Navojoa 1-5-0
W-Silva (1-0). L-Gamboa (0-1). T-2:46. A-12,436.
Cyle Hankard's two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning broke a scoreless tie as the Venados went on to win Game 1.  Walter Silva pitched 7.1 shutout innings for Mazatlan, scattering three Mayos hits and striking out seven Mayos batsmen.  Quincy Latimore singled in Nate Tenbrink with Navojoa's lone run in the eighth, after Silva had already exited.

MEXICALI 2-6-0, Jalisco 1-5-1
W-Solano (1-0). L-Marin (0-1). T-2:28. A-14,917.
Javier Solano showed why he's a prime LMP Pitcher of the Year candidate by dominating Jalisco for the Aguilas, tossing seven innings and allowing one run on four hits, including an Alex Liddi solo homer in the fourth.  Xorge Castillo's RBI double in the second brought in what would prove to be Mexicali's winning run. Terance Marin had a solid start himself, going seven frames and giving up two runs on six hits for Jalisco.

OBREGON 7-10-1, Los Mochis 4-9-0
W-Adrian C. Ramirez (1-0). L-Avila (0-1). T-3:32. A-11,567.
Carlos Valencia blasted a three-run walkoff homer against Caneros closer Andres Avila in the bottom of the tenth inning to give the Yaquis an opening win.  D'Arby Myers scored from second on J.C. Linares' single for Los Mochis' go-ahead run in the top on the tenth.  Valencia earlier clubbed a two-run homer and added an RBI single.  Sebastian Valle socked a solo homer for the Caneros.

NOTE: BBM is posting final scores of each game immediately following the final pitch on both Facebook and Twitter throughout the playoffs and Caribbean Series.

VENADOS, AGUILAS BOTH WIN TO STAY ALIVE IN PLAYOFF HUNT

The Mazatlan Venados opened a three-game series at home against Hermosillo Tuesday night with a 5-3 win over the Naranjeros to come one step closer to clinching the sixth and final Mexican Pacific League playoff berth.

The Venados ran their second half record to 14-17 to remain two games ahead of the 12-19 Mexicali Aguilas, who took a 6-5 victory over the Guasave Algodoneros Tuesday in a series opener at the border city. Any combination of a Mazatlan win or a Mexicali loss over the final two nights of the regular season would hand the Venados a postseason slot.

Venados pitcher Walter Silva (pictured) did his part, allowing no Hermosillo runs over seven innings of three-hit ball to lift his record to a deceptive 4-7 on the season. Despite losing 7 of his 11 decisions, Silva has a 2.87 ERA. Erubiel Durazo’s three-run homer off a reliever in the eighth accounted for Hermosillo’s scoring.

Meanwhile, Mexicali took a 6-5 win at home against Guasave. The Algodoneros took an early 3-0 lead off Aguilas ace Andy Sisco as Leo Heras rocked a homer in his third consecutive game for the Cottoneers in the first inning and added a two-run single in the third. However, Mexicali scored two runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings with Reggie Abercrombie and Raul Gonzalez both homering for the Eagles.

HERMOSILLO WINS 1-0 GAME 7 THRILLER TO COP MEX PAC TITLE

Reliever Jose Vargas set down the Mazatlan Venados in a 1-2-3 ninth inning Saturday night to seal the Hermosillo Naranjeros’ 1-0 win over the home team, cinching the Mexican Pacific League pennant in the seventh and deciding game of the League Championship Series.

Hermosillo center fielder Chris Roberson (pictured) led off the game with a triple to the center field wall, and was subsequently driven across home plate on a fly ball to right by Vinny Castilla for what would be the game’s only run. The Naranjeros collected only three hits on the night, but Mazatlan was able to gather just six singles in the contest themselves in a fabulous pitcher’s duel between Naranjeros starter Juan Delgadillo and Mazatlan’s Walter Silva.

Delgadillo tossed shutout ball until being pulled with two out in the eighth, scattering those six hits and a walk on three strikeouts for the win. For his part, Silva pitched beautifully for Mazatlan over eight full innings, allowing just two hits and a pair of walks with seven strikeouts for the defending champion Venados, who were seeking their fourth title in six years.