Leon, Guanajuato — Guided by César Valdez, considered the best pitcher in the Mexican Baseball League, the Leones de Yucatan defeated the Bravos de León 5-3, to secure both the series and a path to the post season.
Walter Ibarra hit a two-run single in the fourth inning, capping a three-run inning and giving the Leones a 3-0 lead after Sebastian Valle hit an RBI double earlier in the inning.
Leon answered in the bottom of the frame when Marco Guzman scored on an error to cut the deficit to two.
The Leones later tacked on two runs in the fifth when Alex Liddi hit an RBI double and then scored on a single by Luis Juarez to secure the victory.
Leon saw its comeback attempt come up short after Guzman hit an RBI double in the sixth inning and Carlos Rivero scored on a groundout in the ninth to cut the Yucatan lead to 5-3.
Valdez (15-2) picked up a quality start and the win after allowing two runs on just five hits over seven innings. Opposing starter Yasutomo Kubo (8-14) took the loss after allowing five runs and seven hits over 7 1/3 innings.
Yucatan improved to 6-2 against Leon this season.
The Leones go for the sweep at 1:15 p.m. today at Domingo Santana Stadium, sending the Cuban star Yoanner “Asere” Negrín (13-5, 3.04 ERA) to face Venezuelan Jonathan Vargas (6-2, 6.91 ERA) on the mound. The game can be followed live on La Comadre 98.5 and SIPSE TV.
CLUB |
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 7 | 8 | 9 |
| R | H | E |
YUC |
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 8 | 1 |
LEO |
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | 6 | 0 |
Win: Valdez (15-2)
Loss: Kubo (8-14)
SV: Lueke (21)
HR: None
Sources: Leones, The Associated Press