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Bruce
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Jackie
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B a s e b a l l
M e x i c o
February
4, 2 0 1 7
NAVOJOA
CLOBBERS MOCHIS, 10-0, TO HOLD ONE-GAME MEX-PAC LEAD
Shortstop Niko
Vasquez went 4-for-4 with a homer and double while starter Zack Dodson
pitched
six innings of two-hit shutout ball to lead the Navojoa Mayos to a 10-0
thrashing of the Los Mochis Caneros Tuesday night in Mexican Pacific
League
play Tuesday night. A gathering of 4,931 looked on at Navojoa's
Estadio
Manuel "Ciclon" Echeverria as the Mayos extended their second half
record to 9-4, good enough for a one-game lead over 8-5 Mexicali in the
LMP
standings. The Caneros dropped to sixth with a 6-7 mark.
Vasquez spent five years in
the Cardinals system and another three in the independent Frontier
League
before joining Laguna of the Mexican League this summer, batting .275
with 17
homers in 100 games for the Vaqueros. He's gone 7-of-9 over the
past two
games for the Mayos to lift his MexPac average to .356 this winter.
Dodson, who went
31-45 in seven years as a Pirates farmhand before going 2-1 for Laredo
of the
independent American Association in 2016, raised his record for the
Mayos to
4-3 after his third consecutive strong outing. He's allowed two
earned
runs while striking out 16 in 18 innings. Dodson had been traded
to the
Orioles last winter but was suspended for 100 games in 2016 after
receiving the
third drug-related sitdown of his career.
After a disastrous first half,
during which they won just 9 of 35 games, Mazatlan has won 7 of 12 in
the
second stanza to pull into third place in the MexPac behind Navojoa and
Mexicali. Conversely, first-half champion Culiacan is in the
cellar after
losing 10 of 13 games.
Jalisco 3B Agustin Murillo has
a .349 batting average to top both Hermosillo OF Chris Roberson and Los
Mochis
OF Leandro Castro by one point at the top of the hitting tables.
A
Roberson teammate, Naranjeros third baseman Jose Amador, hasn't homered
since
November 24 but still leads the MexPac with 12 homers, ahead of Navojoa
OF
Quincy Latimore's nine dingers and Hermosillo 1B David Washington's
eight.
Culiacan OF Joey Meneses leads in RBI's with 40, one ahead of
Jose
Amador, while fellow Tomateros OF Ronnie Mustelier is tops with 34 runs
scored.
Navojoa's rookie sensastion,
Cuban SS Randy Arozarena, has taken the lead with 15 stolen bases while
Obregon
OF Corey Wimberly is second with 14 swipes. Arozarena, who signed
with
St. Louis for $1.25 million last year and led the Northern Mexican
League with
a .377 average and 42 steals for Tecate this summer, is hitting .331
for the
Mayos. Baseball America's Ben
Badler says, "Based on his present ability, Arozarena should be ready
for
a High Class A assignment, although the Cardinals haven't yet said
where he'll
begin his career." The 21-year-old Arozarena played short, second
and center field for Pinar Del Rio in the Cuban National Series,
batting .291
his last season in 2014-15 before defecting to Mexico. His
Mexican League
rights are held by the Tijuana Toros.
Mexicali pitcher Javier Solano
(7-3) won four straight starts between November 11 and 29 to take the
LMP lead
with seven wins. Navojoa's Hector Velazquez (6-2) was racked up in
Jalisco for
ten hits and six runs Saturday befor being yanked in the fifth, but he
still
has six wins (second in the loop), a 2.49 ERA (third) and 65 strikeouts
(first)
after ten starts. Hermosillo's Juan Pablo Oramos (4-1) leads with
a 1.88
ERA. Mexicali closer Jake Sanchez is in the midst of a phenomenal
season.
Sanchez, an A's farmhand who converted to relief with AA Midland
last
summer, has yet to allow an earned run in 19 one-inning appearances and
leads
the LMP with 12 saves.
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