The Charros de Jalisco recorded a 4-0 series victory over the Venados de Mazatlán to advance to the semi-finals of the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico (LMP) playoffs. The Guadalajara-based franchise wrapped up the series with a 4-1 win in Mazatlan on Monday night.

Charros' pitchers excelled throughout the series, giving up just four runs in the four games. On Monday, Orlando Lara threw seven complete innings, striking out four and allowing five hits and no runs. The Charros opened their account in the second inning with a home run by first base Marquez Smith with a man on base. Manny Rodríguez and C.J. Retherford responded with RBIs in the fifth and eighth, while relievers Carlos Vázquez, Geoffrey Broussard and Manny Acosta saw the Charros safely home.

In the opening game of the series last Thursday at the Estadio Panamericana de Beisbol in Zapopan, leftie Marco Tovar gave up seven hits in six innings, allowing just one run in a 4-1 victory. Around 11,300 fans – just below capacity – saw the Charros take the lead in the third inning with a sacrifice fly by Jesús “Chuyito” López. An error by the Venados saw another run added in the same inning.  An RBI by new recruit Jon Weber made it 3-1 in the sixth and a homer by first base Marquez Smith in the seventh widened the margin.  Relief pitchers Adrián Ramírez, Carlos Vázquez, Geoffrey Broussard, Iván Salas and Mario Mendoza were all sent out to ensure the Charros took a 1-0 lead in the series.

A full house of just over 12,000 biosterous fans packed the stadium for the following evening's game, when Ben Kozlowski gave another pitching masterclass, going seven innings without conceding a run in a 2-0 victory.

Two days later in Mazatlan, Juan Salvador Delgadillo struck out five in five innings, giving up three hits and one run. RBIs by “Mosco” Arredondo and C.J Retherford in the third and fourth, and a double by Manny Rodríguez in the fifth was enough to push the Charros over the line in a tight 3-2 win.

The Charros now wait until Sunday for the opening game of their semi-final series at the Estadio Panamericana de Beisbol. Their opponents will come from one of the other two first-round games, between Los Mochis and Culiacan (2-2), and Ciudad Obregon and Mexicali (3-1).  The game is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the stadium box office, from Ticketmaster.com and Ticketmaster sales outlets.