The Charros de Jalisco recorded a 4-0 series victory over the Venados de Mazatlan 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. Dominican-American Manny Rodríguez and C.J. Retherford of Homestead, Florida responded with RBIs in the fifth and eighth, while relievers Carlos Vázquez, Manny Acosta and Geoffrey Broussard of Montclair, California 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 of Lakewood, California made it 3-1 in the sixth and a homer by 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 boisterous fans packed the stadium for the following evening’s game, when Ben Kozlowski of St. Peterseburg, Florida 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, January 10 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 (2-3), and Ciudad Obregon and Mexicali (3-2). Sunday’s game is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. The second game on Monday, January 12 starts at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets went on sale at the stadium box office this week for both Sunday and Monday’s games and, according to Charros’ sources, were selling out quickly. GR staff