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B a s e b a l l
M e x i c o
Monday,
January 21, 2 0 1 9
YAQUIS TOP
MOCHIS IN GAME 7, VS.
JALISCO IN FINALS
After dropping
the first two games of their Mexican Pacific
League playoff semifinal series in Los Mochis, the Obregon Yaquis
fought back
and won the final two tilts of the set (also on the road) to beat the
Caneros,
4 games to 3, reaching the championship series against Jalisco, who
topped
Mazatlan in five contests in the other semi matchup.
As might be deduced, however, the Yaquis
didn't win the easy way.
Obregon was able
to tie the series at two games apiece by
winning last Monday and Tuesday. In Game
Three at Nuevo Estadio Yaquis, Jose Aguilar lined a single to center
field off
Andres Avila to score Yordanys Linares from second in the bottom of the
tenth
inning for a walkoff 4-3 win over the Caneros.
Obregon carried a 3-0 lead into the top of the ninth before Rudy
Amador,
Esteban Quiroz and Leandro Castro each socked solo homers off Yaquis
closer
Maikel Cleto to tie the game and set the stage for Aguilar's heroics in
the
next frame. Obregon knotted the series one
night later with a 2-0 shutout over the Caneros with Francisco
Rodriguez and
three relievers combining on a 3-hitter.
Rodriguez, who pitched for the Los Angeles Angels in 2010 and
2011, gave
up two hits in 5.1 frames for the win as Victor Mendoza's two-run
single in the
bottom of the first against Mochis starter Danny Rodriguez provided all
the
scoring Obregon would need. The Caneros
regained the series lead on Wednesday with a whitewash of their own, a
4-0
triumph behind the pitching of Ariel Pena (who scattered three hits and
struck
out 10 over six innings) and three relievers.
Diory Hernandez' RBI double in the bottom of the fourth broke a
scoreless tie and Saul Soto rapped a two-run single to give Los Mochis
a 3-0
lead while Jonathan Jones added a leadoff homer one inning later for
insurance. Hernandez and Quiroz had three
hits each for
the winners while Dustin Martin had two of the Yaquis' five hits.
The series
shifted to Los Mochis, where the Caneros needed
just one win to punch their ticket to the finals. They
never got it, as Obregon won Friday's
Game Six by a 4-3 count to tie the semis at three games each. The Yaquis scored all four of their runs in
the top of the first off Yoanis Quiala, who gave up a two-run double to
Mendoza
in a 32-pitch inning. Los Mochis plated
three scores of their own in the third off Yoanner Negrin with Quiroz
providing
the key blow with a two-run single.
Negrin settled down and eventually earned the win while Quiala
absorbed
the loss. Santiago Gutierrez pitched six
scoreless innings of one-hit relief in defeat for the Caneros after
replacing
Quiala in the second. The Yaquis, who
missed the postseason the previous two winters, advanced to the finals
by
winning Saturday's Game Seven, 6-2, as Rodriguez tossed 5.1 innings of
two-run
ball for his second win in five nights.
Obregon built an early 3-0 lead against Caneros starter Jaime
Lugo,
although the first two were unearned via a wild pitch and an error, and
steadily pulled away. Linares, Julio
Valdez and Isaac Paredes combined for six hits, four runs and two RBIs
to
account for all the Yaquis' scoring as Obregon capped their series
comeback
with two consecutive wins away from home.
The Yaquis will
face a well-rested opponent in the Jalisco
Charros, who reached their first LMP title series in five winters after
beating
Mazatlan in five games. After Jalisco
won the first two games in Mazatlan, the Venados won a rain-delayed
Game Three,
7-3, in Guadalajara. The contest was
tied at 2-2 Monday night before rain forced the game to be carried over
to
Tuesday, when Mazatlan posted four runs in the fifth as Ramon Rios and
Asael
Sanchez had run-scoring singles and Edson Garcia contributed a two-out,
two-run
single off Jalisco hurler Manuel Flores.
Rios finished with three hits (two of them doubles), two runs
and two
RBIs in what would be the Venados' lone win of the series.
The Charros' Japhet Amador powered a two-run
homer off Irwin Delgado in the second.
Jalisco then won
the next two games at home, starting with
Wednesday's 6-3 triumph thanks to a five-run bottom of the first (four
scores
coming with two out, two on an Agustin Murillo fly ball to right that
was
muffed by Edson Garcia, allowing Amador and Henry Urrutia to cross the
plate. Jalisco's Orlando Lara pitched
six innings and allowed one run for his second win of the series while
batterymate Gabriel Gutierrez socked a solo homer off Venados starter
Konner
Wade in support. Sebastian Valle and
Anthony Giansanti both went deep for Mazatlan.
The Charros closed out their semi in Thursday's Game Five, 10-6,
as
Jalisco overcame an early 2-0 deficit by scoring runs in the second,
third,
fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Jose
Amador (no relation to Japhet) paced the 15-hit Horsemen attack by
going
3-for-5 with a pair of two-run homers while Murillo also belted a
longball for
the winners. Valle and Giansanto homered
again for Mazatlan in defeat while Rios added three hits and two
ribbies.
After Obregon
and Jalisco closed out their Final Four wins,
both took part in a reinforcement draft Saturday. The
Yaquis took a pair of second basemen in
Los Mochis' Quiroz and Mazatlan's Rios while the Charros took starting
pitchers
Manny Barreda from Culiacan and Los Mochis' Quiala.
Quiroz is perhaps more versatile than Rios,
with about as many games at third base and shortstop as at second, and
he would
give Yaquis manager Sergio Gastelum more options. Barreda
was not chosen in the previous two
reinforcement drafts despite finishing second to Jalisco's Elian Leyva,
the LMP
Pitcher of the Year, with a 2.65 ERA. He
started one game for the Anzoategui Caribes in the Venezuelan League
semifinals
last week, getting rocked by the Caracas Leones for four runs on six
hits in
1.1 innings, but returned to North America after the Caribes were
eliminated.
The MexPac
championship series will open Monday night in
Guadalajara at 9:15 Eastern as the Charros host Obregon.
MEXICAN PACIFIC
LEAGUE Championship
Series
Game
1 Monday, January 21 (9:15PM) Obregon at
Jalisco
Game
2 Tuesday, January 22 (9:15PM) Obregon
at Jalisco
Game
3 Thursday, January 24 (9:10PM) Jalisco
at Obregon
Game
4 Friday, January 25 (9:10PM) Jalisco at
Obregon
Game
5 Saturday, January 26 (9:10PM) Jalisco
at Obregon*
Game
6 Monday, January 28 (9:15PM) Obregon at
Jalisco*
Game
7 Tuesday, January 29 (9:15PM) Obregon
at Jalisco*
*-if
necessary. All times Eastern.
MANNY RODRIGUEZ
REPEATS AS LMP MVP,
LEYVA PITCHER OF YEAR
Jalisco Charros
second baseman Manny Rodriguez has been
selected as the Mexican Pacific League's Most Valuable Player for the
second
consecutive season and the third time in his winterball career. The 36-year-old Guasave native earned 74 of
117 votes, or 63.25% of ballots cast by journalists covering the LMP. Los Mochis outfielder Leandro Castro came in
a distant second with 15 votes (12.82%), followed by league batting
champ
Francisco Peguero of Hermosillo with 13 votes (11.11%), Obregon slugger
Jesus
Valdez (11 votes, 9.40%) and Navojoa's LMP home run king Jovan Rosa (4
votes,
3.42%).
Rodriguez was
eighth in the MexPac with a .313 batting
average and led the loop with 52 RBIs, his 80 hits were one behind
Hermosillo's
Jasson Atondo, he tied Castro for third in the LMP with 13 homers and
matched
Los Mochis' Isaac Rodriguez with 41 runs scored (ten behind leader
Alonzo
Harris of Navojoa). With his third MVP
trophy, the Jalisco team captain now trails only the legendary Hector
Espino,
who won six such awards over his MexPac career.
The LMP league
office has named other award-winners for the
2018-19 regular season, including Rodriguez' teammate Elian Leyva as
Pitcher of
the Year. Although the Cuban-born Leyva
did not receive a single MVP vote, the Charros' right-hander led or
tied for
the circuit lead in several pitching categories including wins (6),
earned-run
average (2.02), strikeouts (67) and WHIP (1.08). He
became only the fifth man in MexPac
history to cop the Pitching Triple Crown and the last since Francisco
Campos of
Mazatlan turned the trick in 2003-04.
Leyva, who was called to rest last week by the Atlanta Braves
before MLB
spring training opens next month, easily outdistanced the POY field
with 90.60%
of votes cast on 106 of 117 ballots cast by cronistas,
while Culiacan's Manny Barreda and Jaime Lugo of Navojoa each picked up
four
votes and another Mayos pitcher, Marco Carrillo, earned the final three.
Culiacan closer
Casey Coleman earned 99 of 117 votes (84.62%)
to win Reliever of the Year honors after leading the LMP with 22 saves,
breaking the Tomateros' old mark of 21 set by Jose Silva in 2007-08. Coleman turned in a microscopic ERA of 1.24
while striking out 37 batters and walking only five over 36.1 innings
pitched
in 34 appearances. The ex-Cubs pitcher,
whose grandfather and father both pitched in MLB All-Star games during
their
respective careers, far outdistanced his nearest competitors;
Mazatlan's
Brandon Cunniff and Los Mochis's Jose Valverde (himself a former MLB
All-Star)
each picked up seven votes.
Continuing the
trend of non-competitive awards balloting,
Hermosillo second baseman Jasson Atondo received 92 of 117 votes
(78.63%) to
walk away as this winter's Rookie of the Year.
Besides leading the MexPac with 81 hits, Atondo finished second
to
teammate Francisco Peguero in batting with a .351 mark after topping
the table
for a number of weeks before a late-season fade. Atondo
also finished fifth in runs scored
with 39. Navojoa pitcher Jose Isidro
Marquez, son of the Mexican League's all-time saves leader, finished
second to
Atondo with 10 votes (8.55%), followed by Los Mochis middle reliever
Daniel
Duarte's eight votes (6.84%) and seven votes (5.98%) for Obregon setup
man
Jesus Aguamea.
The voting was
much closer for Manager of the Year, which was
eventually won by Obregon's first-year skipper Sergio Gastelum, who
received 40
of 107 votes to come in at 37.04%.
Gastelum led Oaxaca to a surprise appearance in the Mexican
League's Serie del Rey last fall in his
managerial debut before the Guerreros fell to Monterrey in the title
set and
his work with the Yaquis implies that his initial success as a dugout
boss with
the Guerreros was no fluke. Gastelum
replaced Oscar Robles early in the 2018-19 season with the Yaquis at
3-6 and
went on to lead Obregon to a 34-23 record over the 57 games he managed
as the
Tribe posted the best overall record in the LMP regular season and
qualified
for the postseason for the first time in three years.
Hermosillo skipper Bronswell Patrick came in
second to Gastelum with 29 votes (26.85%), Jalisco manager Roberto
Vizcarra was
third with 18 votes (16.67%) and Culiacan's now-former manager Robinson
Cancel
was fourth by picking up 12 votes (11.11%).
Los Mochis helmsman Victor Bojorquez, who has done some great
work for
the Caneros himself, placed fifth with nine votes (8.33%).
ACAYUCAN TOPS
XALAPA FOR LIV CROWN;
BOTH QUALIFY FOR L.A.S.
The Acayucan
Tobis defeated the Xalapa Chileros, 7-2, Sunday
afternoon at Estadio Emiliano Zapata in Oluta (an Acayuca suburb) in
the
seventh and deciding game of the Veracruz Winter League championship
series. No details of the game were
available at BBM's post time.
The victory
gives the Tobis their second consecutive
winterball league title and third in the past four seasons. Acayucan won the Veracruz State Baseball
League pennant last year in that circuit's second and final campaign
under the
guidance of former Brewers pitcher Narciso Elvira, who founded the loop
in 2016
after the original LIV shut down operations due to financial
difficulties. Elvira's LVEB also struggled
to make ends
meet before the reconstituted LIV returned this winter under the
leadership of
sisters Regina and Fabiola Vazquez Saut.
Many baseball veterans played in the league this winter after
Elvira's
circuit relied almost entirely on younger (and less-expensive) players
for two
years, although the LIV retained the LVEB's practice of scheduling
games only
on weekends.
The Tobis and
manager Felix Tejeda, a former Dodgers farmhand
and Campeche Piratas reliever, found themselves in a tough spot right
off the
bat by dropping the first two games of the series at home, losing a 7-5
contest
to Xalapa on January 5 and allowing two runs in a heartbreaking 8-6
loss on
January 6. Acayucan fought back the
following weekend by scoring five runs in the top of the ninth inning
in a 11-5
road victory over the Chileros on January 11 but found themselves on
the brink
of elimination one day later after absorbing an 8-1 defeat. The Tobis stayed alive and sent the series
back to Acayucan by plating five runs in the first inning en route to a
resounding 14-4 win in Xalapa as Heber Gomez blasted a grand slam while
Yadil
Mujica, Rogelio Noris and Eliseo Aldazaba combined for nine hits, five
runs and
three RBIs to narrow Xalapa's advantage in the best-of-7 set to one
game.
The Tobis tied
the series at three game apiece Saturday with
a 4-1 Game Six win in Acayucan's Estadio Luis Diaz Flores.
The Mexican League's 2017 batting champion,
Yadir Drake, had a big night for the Tobis by driving in fellow Cuban
Yadil
Mujica with the game's first run with a sacrifice fly in the first
inning,
doubling in another run in the bottom of the third and launching a solo
homer
to left in the seventh. Eleven-year LMB
veteran Yancarlo Angulo produced Xalapa's lone run of the game in the
top of
the ninth by Tobis starter Jorge
Quinones got the win by pitching 5.1 shutout innings while holding the
Chileros
to two hits. Rookie Daniel Lobata took
the loss for Xalapa.
According to the
Latin American Series website, both the
Tobis and Chileros will move on to co-host the event's eighth edition. The six-team, 18-game tournament is scheduled
to be played in four ballparks in the state of Veracruz.
The LAS is considered one tier below the
Caribbean Series among international winterball events.
The Tobis and Chileros will play league
champions from Colombia, Nicaragua, Panama and first-time entrant
Argentina. Curacao, which sent their top
team last year, is sitting out this winter's tournament, hence the
invite to
the LIV runners-up.
Three games will
be played on opening day Saturday: Xalapa
vs. Panama at Beisborama 72 in Cordoba (a former LMB ballpark) at 1PM
local as
well as a 2PM doubleheader at Veracruz' Beto Avila Park with Colombia
vs.
Nicaragua followed by Acayucan vs. Argentina.
The title game is scheduled for February 1, most likely at Beto
Avila
Park, another former Liga venue with the largest capacity of the four
facilities at 7,782 seats. and the site of the first Serie
Latinoamericana in 2013.
The 27-year-old stadium served as home this winter for the LIV's
Veracruz Rojos, who narrowly missed the postseason.