Leones Best Tigres 2-1

EVEN ZONA SUR CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES AT 3 GAMES APIECE

Large Leones Crowd

Marco Quevedo tossed 5 innings of 3 hit ball, allowing 1 run as the Leones de Yucatan topped the Tigres de Quintana Roo 2-1 in game 6 of the Zona Sur Championship Series. Adam Reifer pitched the 9th to preserve the win for Quevedo and record the save. 4 relievers kept the Tigres in check in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings on 2 hits and no runs.

Corey Wimberly led off he bottom of the 1st for Yucatan with a double to right and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Jose Aguilar. Ricardo Serrano drew a base on balls and ball four was a wild pitch thrown by Tigres starter Carlos Bustamante that allowed Wimberly to score from third and gave the Leones an early 1-0 lead.

Yucatan continued to play small ball in the 2nd inning. Jaime Pedroza singled to lead off the inning and Kevin Flores sacrificed him to second. With two outs, Corey Wimberly singled to left to score Pedroza as the Leones stretched their lead to 2-0. The Tigres reliever, Wilmer Rios, ended the inning when he kicked a ball hit back to him towards a charging second baseman for a 1-4-3 ground out.

Jorge Vazquez led off the top of the 5th for the Tigres with a long solo home run to left to narrow the Leones lead to 2-1. That was the only "bad" pitch thrown by Quevedo in an otherwise masterful outing.

Jaime Pedroza was 2 for 3 with a run scored, Corey Wimberly 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored and Jose Aguilar 2 for 3 for the Leones.

Leones Score 2nd Run

Carlos Gastelum went 2 for 3 and Jorge Vazquez 2 for 3 with the home run for the Tigres.

The Leones have won 3 consecutive games to tie the series at 3 games apiece after falling behind when the Tigres took the first 3 games. Game 7 will be played on Sunday in Merida with the winner taking on the winner of the Zona Norte Championship series between the Acereros de Monclova and the Toros de Tijuana.

IN OTHER LMB PLAYOFF ACTION

Tijuana 8, Monclova 4

Watch video highlights HERE.

The Toros de Tijuana exploded for 6 runs in the top of the 9th inning off of Acereros relieve Juan Noriega, who gave up 6 runs on 5 hits in 2/3 of an inning, to even the Zona Norte Championship series at 3 games apiece and forcing a game seven in Monclova on Sunday the 6th of September. The Toros scored all 6 runs with 2 outs in the inning.

Jose Oyervides, the Acereros starter, had held the Toros to 2 runs on 6 hits before being replaced on the mound in the 6th. Dennys Reyez was the beneficiary of the Toros outburst, picking up the win with 1 inning of relief.

Olivos 3 Run Single In The 9th

The big blow of the game was a bases loaded single to left that cleared the bases. The hard hit ball got by the left fielder and went to the wall and Olivo, who never slowed, raced home with the sixth run of the inning.

Mario Mendoza gave up a hit in the bottom of the 9th but struck out 2 batters including Francisco Cordoba to end the game preserve the win for Reyes.

Miguel Olivo was 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored, Lew Ford 2 for 5 wit an RBI and Luis Suarez 2 for 2 with an RBI for the Toros.

Olmo Rosario was 3 for 4 with 2 RBIs, Jose Ruiz 2 for 4 with an RBI, Carlos Penuelos 2 for 3 with an RBI and Hernando Arredondo 2 for 5 for Monclova in the loss.

Leones Keep Tigres At Bay With 3-1 Win

TRAIL ZONA SUR SERIES 3 GAMES TO 1

Watch video highlights of the game HERE.

Juan Delgadillo / Leones Facebook

Juan Delgadillo, until yesterday, was listed on the Leones official roster as "reserve". Activated to take on the Tigres and their 3 games to none Zona Sur Championship lead, Delgadillo pitched masterfully. Allowing just 2 hits over 6 innings while walking 2 and striking out 2, Delgadillo held the Tigres scoreless in the "must win" game. Yucatan used 7 pitchers over the last 3 innings, with Adam Reifer notching the save. Pablo Ortiz gave up 2 runs on 6 hits, walked 3 and struckout 4 to take the loss for the Tigres.

Following a short rain delay, Ricardo Serrano led off the top of the 4th for the Leones with a single and scored on a double to center by Jesus Valdez for the 1-0 Yucatan lead.

Valdez doubled again in the 5th inning to score Jose Aguilar, who had singled with 2 outs, as the Leones increased their lead to 2-0.

Hector Navarro relieved Delgadillo in the 7th and, after getting Eugenio Velez to pop up to the third baseman, hit Francisco Peguero with a pitch. Miguel Aguilar was brought in to replace Navarro for the Leones and struck out Alfredo Amezaga for the second out. Leones manager, Wilfredo Romero changed pitchers again and the Tigre's Ricardo Vazquez drew a walk. Another pitching change, another walk and the Tigres had the bases loaded with 2 outs. The 5th pitcher of the inning for Yucatan, Manuel Rodriguez, threw a wild pitch that scored pinch runner Brandon Villareal with the lone run of the game for the Tigres who now trailed Yucatan by a 2-1 score.

Jaime Pedroza hit a solo home run to right in the top of the 8th inning to add an insurance run for the Leones and stretch the Yucatan lead to 3-1.

Adam Reifer came on to pitch for the Leones with one out in the bottom of the 8th inning and shut down the Tigres to get the save.

Jose Aguilar was 2 for 4 with a run scored, Jesus Valdez 2 for 4 with  doubles and 2 RBIs and Jaime Pedroza 1 for 3 with the home run and an RBI for Yucatan.

Greg Golson and Carlos Gastelum got the only hits for the Tigres, both singles as he Yucatan pitching did an excellent job of keeping runners out of scoring position.

The series continues on Thursday with the Tigres holding a 3 games to 1 lead in the best of seven playoff.

IN OTHER LMB PLAYOFF ACTION

Tijuana 6, Monclova 5

Watch video highlights of the game HERE.

The Toros de Tijuana scored 4 times in the bottom of the 1st inning and held on to beat the Acereros de Monclova 6-5 to tie the best of seven Zona Norte Championship playoff at 2 games apiece.

Jose Lopez picked up the win in relief of starter Logan Duran who gave up 5 runs on 5 hits in 4 1/3 innings of work. Mario Mendoza gave up 2 hits in 1 1/3 innings to get his 3rd save of the playoffs. Anthony Capra took the loss for Monclova, allowing 6 runs on 9 hits over 4 2/3 innings on the mound.

Dustin Martin was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored, Luis Suarez 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs, Eduardo Arredondo 2 for 4 with a run scored and Miguel Olivo 1 for 2 with and RBI and 2 walks in the Toros win.

Hernando Arredondo, who entered to game as a pinch runner in the 2nd inning, was 2 for 3 with a home run for Monclova. Jose Amdor went 2 for 4 with a run scored and Flavio Romero 1 for 3 with an RBI.

Leones' Road To The 2015 Playoffs

Since winning the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol Championship in 2006, the Leones struggled in the playoffs from 2007 through 2010. The team lost in the finals in 2007, lost the Zona Sur Championship round in 2008 and lost in he 1st round in 2009 and 2010.

The Leones did not qualify for the league playoffs from 2011 - 2014. At the end of the 2013 season the ownership decided changes had to be made. They fired their manager, Daniel Fernandez and hired Matias Carrillo. After a losing season in 2014, Carrillo was let go and a former Leones player with little managerial experience, Wilfredo Romero, was hired for the 2015 season. Romero was a player on the 2006 LMB Championship team.

Fernandez' team had missed the 2013 playoff by 5 games, finishing 6th of 8 teams in the Zona Sur. Things did not go well in 2014 as the team finished 8 games out of the playoffs and 7th out of 8 teams. Carrillo was fired and Romero hired in October of 2014.

Typical Merida Crowd/Leones facebook

In 2015, Romero and the Leones have turned things around. The team finished the regular season in 1st place in the Zona Sur of the LMB, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Tigres de Quintana Roo. Yucatan's record of 66-46 is a twenty game improvement over 2014.

The Leones change in their record from 2014 to 2015 was dramatic. In 2014, Yucatan finished 10th in the league in batting average, 14th in hits, 8th in doubles, 13th in home runs and 15th in RBIs. Conversely in 2015, the team is 6th in batting average (at .291), 3rd in hits (1105), 3rd in doubles (211), 3rd in triples (18) and 4th in RBIs (562). They also finished 4th in steals with 77, pointing to a speedier team that is more aggressive on the base paths.

At the same time the pitching improved dramatically. In 2014 the Leones pitchers were 14th in wins, 9th in ERA, 13th in strikeouts and 12th in WHIP (Walks plus Hits / Innings Pitched) The pitching staff in 2015 is 2nd in wins (66), 1st in ERA (3.77), 1st in shutouts (14), 5th in walks allowed (358) and 1st in WHIP (1.34).

Marco Quevedo
team leader in Wins
ERA and WHIP

Good players can make a manager look good but the turn around in just one year can and does justify accolades for Romero. If the Diablos Rojos del Mexico, under Miguel Ojeda, had not finished with 73 victories, the most in league history, Romero would have been a shoo-in for Manager of the Year in the LMB.

Jose Aguilar

The Leones are loaded with talent. Second baseman Jaime Pedroza hit .305 on the year playing the second half. Hector Gimenez, from Venezuela, hit .301 with 20 home runs and 77 RBIs. Jose Aguilar had 8 home runs and 57 RBIs while batting .299.

The two biggest stars for the Leones though, were Corey "El Flow" Wimberly and Jesus "Cacao" Valdez. Wimberly, from the US, led the league in runs scored with 97, hit .340, stole 34 bases and had 15 assists from his centerfield position. He also led the league in being hit by a pitch 24 times.

Corey Wimberly

Jesus Valdez
BA .363 leads
the league

Valdez, hailing from the Dominican Republic led the league in batting average, hitting .363 on the year with 7 home runs and 98 RBIs. Had Japhet Amador not had a monster year at the plate, hitting 41 home runs and driving in 117 runs, Valdez would have been a serious contender for the LMB Most Valuable Player.

As it is, Wimberly and Valdez finished in a tie, based on fan voting, for the Leones MVP.

The pitching improved for 2015 but as any fan will tell you, pitching wins games but hitting fills the seats!

One fact that is all telling about a team's success is attendance. From 2011 through 2014 the attendance at Estadio de Beisbol Kukulkan Alamo had steadily fallen until just 225,404 (4,600/game) crossed through the turnstiles in 2014. The winning in 2015 brought the fans back in droves. 528,351 fans, or 8,755 per game, passed through the gates to watch the Leones.

The playoffs begin on Sunday with the Piratas de Campeche and the Pericos de Puebla in a one game playoff to determine who will play the Leones in a 7 game series beginning on Tuesday the 18 of August. The Guerreros de Oaxaca travel to Cancun to take on the Tigres de Quintana Roo in the other playoff of the Zona Sur. As long as the Leones keep on winning the road to the 2015 Division Championship will go through Merida.