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B a s e b a l l
M e x i c o
Monday,
January 10, 2022
BOTH MEX PAC
SEMIS GO TO GAME SIX ON
TUESDAY
The Mexican Pacific League playoff
semifinals have been extended into a second week as a Guasave win over
defending champion Culiacan on Sunday staved off an Algodoneros
elimination
while Jalisco defeated Monterrey the same night to bring their series
back to
Guadalajara with a one-game lead over the Sultanes.
Both semis began with splits of the
first two games in Guasave and Guadalajara. The Algodoneros dropped
their
opener to Culiacan last Tuesday, 4-2, as Jesus Fabela’s RBI triple
broke a 2-2
tie in the top of the seventh. Fabela scored on a Ramiro Pena single
for the
final score of the night. Fabela, Pena and Emmanuel Avila combined for
six
hits, three runs and four RBIs for Culiacan while Manny Banuelos got
the win
after allowing two runs over six innings with six strikeouts. Esteban
Quiroz
homered for Guasave, who wasted a good start by Gino Encina (6IP, 2R,
6K).
The Cottoneers
came back one night later to win an 8-7
thriller in walkoff fashion when an infield single by Marco Jaime off
Tomateros
reliever Sasagi Sanchez in the bottom of the ninth scored pinch-runner
Bryan
Araiza with the winning run. Guasave trailed 5-0 before scoring five
fifth-inning runs to tie the score. Jhoan Urena had four hits for the
winners
while Culiacan’s Ramiro Pena was 3-for-4 with a homer in a game lasting
well
over 5 hours thanks to a combined 39 hits and walks and 11 pitching
changes.
Despite allowing two runs and blowing a save, Matt Pobereyko was
awarded the
win after pitching the final 2.2 innings for Guasave.
The series then shifted to Culiacan,
where the locals held off Guasave, 4-3,
last Friday. Tomateros shortstop Jose Guadalupe Chavez set an
LMP
single-game record with 13 assists and went 2-for-4 at the plate,
including an
RBI single. That plated the eventual winning run in the sixth.
Tomateros first
baseman Joey Meneses opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with
a
two-run homer off Algodoneros starter David Holmberg for the 17th
postseason
roundtripper of his LMP career while Urena hit his own two-run circuit
clout in
the fifth for Guasave off winning pitcher Anthony Vasquez.
The Tomateros took a commanding
3-games-to-1 lead Saturday with a convincing 8-3 home win over Guasave.
The
Algodoneros gained an early 3-1 lead in the top of the second via
run-scoring
singles from Jaime, Quiroz and Yadir Drake, but Culiacan eventually
regained
advantage in the fifth when Meneses doubled in Sebastian Elizalde and
Victor
Mendoza blasted a two-run homer. Fabela’s three-run longball in the
eighth was
icing on the cake for the Tomateros with reliever Aldo Montez earning
the win
with 4.1 shutout innings after starter Jose Bravo was chased in the
second.
The Cottoneers fought back for a 7-2
win on Sunday to send the series back to Guasave for Game Six on
Tuesday night.
The Algodoneros scored five times in the top of the first innings as
Angel Erro
capped the outburst with a two-run double off Culiacan starter Manny
Banuelos,
who may have been distracted after earlier signing a minor league
contract with
the New York Yankees. The Tomateros plated two runs off Guasave starter
Encina
in the bottom of the first but the 6’4” Texan settled down to pitch
scoreless
ball between the second and seventh frames to earn the win.
Jalisco and Monterrey each took a
win in the first two games of their semi set at Estadio Charros. The
Guadalajara side roared back from a 4-0 deficit to tie last Tuesday’s
opener in
the bottom of the fifth on Amadeo Zazueta’s two-run double and
Christian
Villanueva’s two-run homer before pushing ahead one frame later on
Missael
Rivera’s run-scoring double. Villanueva finished the game with three
hits, two
runs and three ribbies while Carlos Figueroa and Ricardo Serrano each
collected
two fits and two RBIs for Monterrey as Serrano doubled twice.
The Sultanes came back to even the
series last Wednesday with a 5-3 triumph. Jalisco pushed a run across
in the
bottom of the first when Jose Juan Aguilar scored on a Villanueva
groundout to
second. The Charros held their narrow 1-0 lead into the top of the
eighth, when
Monterrey exploded for five runs as Serrano contributed a three-run
double to
put the visitors in command. Nick Struck got the win for the Sultanes
after
pitching seven innings and allowing one run on four hits with one
strikeout.
Javier Solano (7.1IP/1R/5H) had a solid start for Jalisco but three
relievers
combined to allow four runs on three hits and two walks in two-thirds
of an
inning in the fateful eighth.
Friday’s Game Three in Monterrey
lasted eleven innings before Jalisco pulled out a 6-5 win over the
Sultanes.
Monterrey plated three runs in the sixth, keyed by Gilberto Galaviz’
two-run
single, to take a 5-3 advantage but Jalisco scored twice in the eighth
to tie
the contest. Fernando Flores’ solo homer
off Sultanes reliever Nathanael Santiago in the top of the eleventh put
the
visitors ahead and Charros closer Roberto Osuna held on to strike out
Fernando
Perez with two runners on to close out the game. Osuna struck out six
batsmen
over 2.2 scoreless innings to earn the win for Jalisco.
Game Four on Saturday saw the
Sultanes knot the series at two games apiece with an 8-6 win over the
visitors.
Monterrey took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first
thanks in part to back-to-back RBI singles
from Nick Torres and Fernando Perez.
Dariel Alvarez’ two-run safety in the top of the third brought
Jalisco
to within one and a bases-loaded single by Aguilar in the fourth tied
it up at
3-3. A Serrano two-run single keyed a
three-run fifth for the Sultanes and Torres added insurance with a
two-run
singleton in the eighth. Torres and Serrano combined for four hits and
four
RBIs for Monterrey while Alvarez added a
two-run homer in the seventh for the Charros.
Augustin Rios’ three-run homer in
the top of the eighth keyed a four run-frame for Jalisco to turn a 2-1
deficit
into a 4-2 win, sending their semifinal series against Monterrey back
to
Guadalajara with the Charros leading, 3 games to 2. Jalisco starter
Orlando
Lara didn’t get the win (reliever Jared Wilson did), but the
36-year-old lefty
from Veracruz did his part by allowing one Sultanes run on two hits
over six
innings. Game Six of the series will be played Tuesday night in Estadio
Charros.
GIL LEAVES
MARIACHIS POST TO COACH
FOR ANGELS
Benji Gil has resigned as manager of
the Mexican League’s Guadalajara Mariachis to take a position coaching
in Major
League Baseball for the Los Angeles Angels, the team he played for when
they
won their lone American League pennant and World Series title in 2002.
Gil was
hired along with fellow ex-MLBers Phil Nevin and Bill Hasselman in the
wake of
a shakeup of Angels manager Joe Maddon’s coaching staff following a
disappointing 77-85 season despite the presence of American League MVP
Shohei
Ohtani in the Halos’ lineup. It’s not known which position Gil will
occupy
under Maddon, although speculation has him coaching at either first or
third
base.
Born in Tijuana in 1972, Gil
attended Castle Park High School in Chula Vista, California, where he
was
better known as a pitcher who tossed a no-hitter as a senior after
leading San
Diego County prep hurlers with a 0.52 ERA as a junior. The Texas
Rangers saw
him more as a hitter, however, and took Gil as a shortstop with the
19th pick
of the 1991 June draft. He debuted with the Rangers in their 1993
season opener
but was back in the minors for more seasoning and would not return to
MLB until
1995.
After signing with the Angels as a
free agent in 2000, Gil spent that season as their starting shortstop
before
taking on a utility role after the emergence of David Eckstein in 2001.
He was
a key reserve during Anaheim’s 2002 postseason run and went 4-for-5
with a
double and a run scored in their World Series triumph that fall against
San
Francisco. Gil eventually returned to playing in the minors, winning
the 2007
Mexican League championship with Monterrey during a six-year run in the
LMB
before retiring as a player in 2012.
Gil made his
managerial debut in 2014-15 with Culiacan, where
he won six Mexican Pacific League titles as a player over 13 winters.
He led
the Tomateros to the LMP title his first season but was fired after
going 28-40
in 2015-16. He was brought back one year later and won the 2017-18 Mex
Pac
pennant before resigning to spend more time with his family,
particularly son
Mateo, who was drafted by St. Louis in the third round in 2018.
Gil returned to
manage the Tomateros a third time in 2019,
piloting Culiacan to the last two LMP titles while reaching in the
current
playoff semifinals. Gil has received criticism in some circles for not
winning
a Caribbean Series championship in four tries, which neglects the fact
that
Culiacan had to survive the LMP postseason gauntlet and win the pennant
four
times to get that far.
Gil made his
Mexican League managerial debut last summer and
led Guadalajara to a first-place finish in the LMB North with a
Liga-best
46-17, reaching the division finals before losing to eventual champion
Tijuana.
He was named Manager of the Year for his effort. Gil also stepped in
late to
replace Juan Castro as manager of the Mexican Olympic Team last summer,
but the
squad went 0-4 in Tokyo with Gil getting plenty of second guesses back
in
Mexico.
The 49-year-old Gil becomes one of
the few Mexican-born former players to coach in Major League Baseball,
joining
Castro, Tony Perezchica and Ben “Cananea” Reyes. Among others. Reyes
remains
the only Mexican to have managed an MLB team, going 0-1-1 as interim
skipper in
Seattle during the 1982 season while Mariners manager Maury Wills
served a two-game
suspension for altering the batter’s box at the Kingdome that year.
Reyes’
temporary work at the M’s helm is not in the record book.
MAESTROS
OF MEXICO: Arturo Gonzalez, P
(1972-2003)
Arturo Gonzalez
was known as “El Rey”
(“The King”) during a long career as one of the steadiest pitchers in
Mexican
baseball. Born in the Monterrey suburb of Tampiquito on October 29,
1955, he
played his entire Mexican League career with the hometown Sultanes. He
debuted
in 1972 as a 16-year-old outfielder with Monterrey’s Class A Mexican
Center
League team and was signed by Houston after that season.
Gonzalez batted
just .161 with one
double in 59 games for the Astros’ Cedar Rapids affiliate in the Class
A
Mexican League in 1973 and after hitting .195 in 41 games for Cedar
Rapids, he
was sent home to Monterrey and hit .289 for the Sultanes in his 14-game
LMB
debut in 1974. A .236 campaign for Monterrey in 1975 and a .183 average
in 1976
convinced the Sultanes that Gonzalez’ strong throwing arm could be
better used for
pitching. After pitching sparingly in 1977, Gonzalez had a breakthrough
year at
age 22 in 1978, going 18-12 with a 2.57 ERA in 33 starts for Monterrey,
including a 2-0 no-hitter against Union Laguna. The rest is history.
The 6’1” righty
was equipped with a
low-90’s fastball and various breaking pitches, including a nasty
slider. He
was one of the Mexican League’s most consistent hurlers ever, finishing
his LMB
career with a 232-169 record and a solid 3.26 ERA over 522 games and
3,228
innings. He reached double figures 14
times, plus 10-win seasons in both 1985 and 1986 for the Phillies’ AAA
Pacific
Coast League farm team in Portland.
“El Rey” led the
Mexican League in
1983 with a 1.92 ERA while fashioning a 12-8 record in 23 starts for
Monterrey.
He started one game for the Sultanes in 2003 before retiring at age 47
after 32
summers, including Liga pennant-winning seasons in 1991, 1995 and 1996.
He
holds all pitching records in Sultanes history and his number 22 has
been
retired by the team.
Gonzalez was no
less effective in
Mexican Pacific League competition. His 125-85 career mark over 20
winters puts
him fourth on the all-time wins list on the LMP, while his .595
won-lost
percentage ranks sixth. An ERA of 2.81
and 1,079 strikeouts in 1,831 innings also rank in the Mex Pac’s
all-time Top
10. He topped the LMP in winning percentage twice, took a strikeout
crown in
1987-88, and spun a 4-0 no-no for Navojoa against Mazatlan on December
18,
1983.
Arturo Gonzalez
won a combined 357
games in Mexico during a career spanning four decades and was inducted
into the
Salon de la Fama in 2009, his first year eligible. He remained in the
game long
after retiring, serving as Homar Rojas’ pitching coach for the Sultanes
in 2021
before Rojas and his staff were fired in June. Gonzalez spent the rest
of the
summer as a pitching instructor for Monterrey’s academy team.
