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© 2007 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved. |
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Mexican Pacific League Notebook 12/18/2007 10:00 AM ETBy Michael Echan and Danny Wild / Special to MLB.com
Aguilas de Mexicali THE WEEK IN REVIEW: Mexicali won four of six games last week to improve to 22-36. IT STARTS WITH PITCHING: The pitching staff has been key to the Aguilas' recent resurgence. Mexicali has allowed more than six runs in a game just twice this month after surpassing that plateau 16 times in October and November. Dana Eveland, Humberto Montemayor and Ken Ray are all in the top 10 in ERA this month. WHO'S HOT: The recently traded Eveland (Athletics) picked up his second straight double-digit strikeout game. The 24-year-old left-hander got the win Dec. 15 against Hermosillo, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts in eight innings. ... Humberto Montemayor won both his starts last week, giving up 10 hits and seven walks over 13 scoreless innings. ... Javier Robles batted .375 (9-for-24) last week -- tied for seventh-best in the league -- with a homer and three RBIs. WHO'S NOT: Oswaldo Morejon continued his December slide, going 3-for-21 (.143) with a double and four RBIs last week. ... Carlos Sievers has a league-leading 13 homers, but batted .238 (5-for-21) with three RBIs. ... LHP Andrew Sisco (White Sox) lost Dec. 14 against Hermosillo, surrendering four runs -- two earned -- on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. NEWS AND NOTES: After going the first 53 games without a shutout, Mexicali recorded two within a six-day span last week. The Aguilas blanked Navojoa, 9-0, on Dec. 11 then shut out Hermosillo, 6-0, on Dec. 16. ... Mexicali is tied for seventh in the league with a .246 batting average and eighth with a 4.39 ERA.
Algodoneros de Guasave WHO'S HOT: Jesus Lopez went 2-for-15 with four RBIs in five games. ... Cristhian Prescichi was 8-for-15 with four RBIs. ... Jose Rodriguez went 9-for-19 with two RBIs ... Leobardo Arauz was 6-for-17 with three RBIs in five games. ... Victor Alvarez picked up a win for the second straight week, allowing four hits over eight shutout frames in a 5-0 blanking of Mochis on Saturday. ... Guillermo Carrillo fanned five over 3 1/3 scoreless relief innings. ... Dan Guerrero surrenderd a run on two hits in five frames in a win on Sunday. WHO'S NOT: Chris George (Marlins) allowed three runs on five hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings. ... Ignacio Montano was charged with three runs on four hits and four walks in 2 1/3 frames in a Dec. 13 loss to Mazatlan. ... Leobardo Moreno yielded four runs on three hits and retired just one batter over two appearances. ... 1B Baltazar Lopez is in a 0-for-10 slide and Francisco Salas went 0-for-7 in two games. NEWS AND NOTES: It's been an eventful off-season for Angels top prospect Brandon Wood. The slugging third baseman hoped to compete for a starting role with the Angels following a campaign in the Mexican Pacific League, but the plans changed because of the death of his grandmother on Nov. 13. "I went to Texas for the funeral and returned to Mexico after a few days," Wood told the Los Angeles Times last week. "But while I was gone, they took me off the roster, so I couldn't play for 10 days. Then, because they added a few players and went over the [six-player] limit for foreigners, they released me." Wood, a first-round draft pick in 2003, was hitting .152 with a homer and three RBIs in nine games for the Algondoneros. "It was disappointing because I wanted to get some at-bats, but that's out of my control. So, I came back, and I'm going to approach the next three months like it's the most important off-season I've ever had."
Caneros de los Mochis WHO'S HOT: LHP Alberto Castillo-Betancourt picked up a win Dec. 15, giving up a run on seven hits and two walks while striking out four in six innings. ... Jon Weber (Rays) also hit a two-run homer on Dec. 15. WHO'S NOT: Dionys Cesar went 3-for-20 (.150) in six games. ... LHP Michael Tejera (Pirates) suffered a loss Dec. 11, yielding three runs on three hits and two walks in one inning. ... C Saul Soto is 2-for-14 (.143) in his last five games. NEWS AND NOTES: The Caneros' four-game losing streak last week was their worst skid since dropping five straight from Oct. 30-Nov. 3. ... Despite their recent struggles, Mochis is third in the league with a 3.53 ERA.
Mayos de Navojoa WHO'S HOT: Mauricio Lara earned the only win of the week for Navojoa on Dec. 13, yielding two runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts in five innings. ... 2B Jose Amador went 8-for-20 (.400) with a homer and three RBIs during a six-game hitting streak. WHO'S NOT: RHP Mario Mendoza was tagged for five runs on three hits and four walks over 4 2/3 innings Dec. 11. ... SS Luis Cruz was 5-for-22 (.227) with four doubles. ... Adan Munoz batted .143 with a homer on three RBIs. NEWS AND NOTES: The Mayos haven't won consecutive games since beating Guasave on Nov. 21-22.
Naranjeros de Hermosillo WHO'S HOT: Juan Canizalez went 6-for-22 with two RBIs in five games. ... Chris Roberson (Phillies) went 7-for-20 (.350) with a homer and five RBIs. ... Jose Luis Sandoval was 6-for-17 with two runs scored and an RBI. ... Francisco Campos picked up a win over Mexicali on Dec. 14, allowing one run on seven hits in seven frames. ... Elmer Dessens gave up two runs over seven frames in his only start. WHO'S NOT: Luis Garcia and Jorge Guzman each went 1-for-11 (.091). ... Geronimo Gil was 1-for-15 in four games. ... Marshall McDougall (Dodgers) is in 2-for-21 (.095) funk in his last five games. ... Nelson Figueroa was charged with six runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings. ... Edgar Gonzalez took the loss against Mexicali on Dec. 15, surrendering four runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 frames. NEWS AND NOTES: Dessens was not offered arbitration by Colorado and became a free agent last week. The right-hander went 2-2 in 34 innings for the Rockies last season. ... The Naranjeros are 0-23 when trailing after eight innings. ... Hermosillo is batting .238 this month. ... Sandoval's 11-game hitting streak ended Saturday. He hit .415 over the streak.
Venados de Mazatlan WHO'S HOT: Mazatlan pitchers combined to allow just four runs in five games. ... Eric Reed (Marlins) went 6-for-21 with three RBIs in five games. ... SS Heber Gomez was 7-for-14 with two RBIs and two runs scored. WHO'S NOT: Sergio Gastelum hit .200 without an RBI over five games. ... C Christian Quintero went 1-for-9. ... 1B Robert Saucedo batted .222 in five games. NEWS AND NOTES: Sergio Valenzuela was claimed by the Cincinnati Reds from the Atlanta Braves in the Rule 5 Draft last week. Valenzuela, who made his most recent appearance on Dec. 9, impressed scouts by compiling a 3.78 ERA in nine appearances (six starts). The Reds released Jorge Cantu to make room for the 23-year-old Hermosillo native. Reds director of professional scouting J. Harrison caught a flight to Mexico to check out Valenzuela. "We got a chance to do some homework on him," Harrison told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. "He's still got some development left. He's a guy we think can compete, contribute and eventually evolve into a starter-type for us. That's an area we need to continue, to stockpile as many starters as we can."
Tomateros de Culiacan WHO'S HOT: Adan Amezcua went 4-for-9 with a run scored in three games. 3B Casey McGehee (Cubs) was 6-for-17 with a solo homer and two runs scored last week. The 25-year-old, who spent the summer between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa, is hitting .297 with four homers and six RBIs in his last 10 games. ... Giancarlo Alvarado allowed one run on six hits over eight innings in his lone start last week. ... Sergio Lizarraga surrendered a hit and two walks with two strikeouts in six scoreless innings on Sunday to beat Mazatlan, 1-0. ... Hector Rodriguez hasn't allowed an earned run in 5 1/3 frames. WHO'S NOT: Karim Garcia continues to struggle, going 2-for-10 in four games last week and hitting .222 in his last nine. Nate Gold (Rangers) went 0-for-17 in five games. ... Ruben Rivera (White Sox) returned from injury and was 2-for-16 in four games. ... Benji Gil went 3-for-14 (.214). NEWS AND NOTES: Rivera, cousin of New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, hadn't played since Nov. 13. ... Culiacan is hitting .171 in its last five games and .246 this month. ... The Tomateros are 5-9 with a 4.15 ERA in December. ... Danny Gonzalez has a 16-game on-base streak, which began Nov. 29. ... Gonzalez also has a 31-game road on-base streak, which he started Oct. 10. He's batting .308 with five homers and 17 runs scored over that span.
Yaquis de Obregon BIG BOTTS: Rangers prospect Jason Botts has powered Obregon's recent surge, hitting .565 (13-for-23) with a homer and 10 RBIs and leading the league in five categories this week. The 27-year-old switch-hitter is hitting .426 with two homers and 13 RBIs in 14 games this month. WHO'S HOT: Jorge Padilla (Nationals) hit .391 (9-for-23) with six RBIs in six games. ... Andres Meza notched a win against the Caneros on Dec. 12, yielding a run on five hits in seven innings. ... Marlins farmhand Alfredo Amezaga batted .231 (6-for-26), but scored a league-leading 10 runs. WHO'S NOT: Albino Contreras hasn't had a multi-hit game since Nov. 9. ... Juan Alvarez picked up a victory Dec. 16, yielding four runs -- three earned -- on five hits in five frames. It was the third time in four starts he allowed at least three runs. NEWS AND NOTES: The Yaquis' seven-game winning streak is their longest this season. They also had three four-game winning streaks. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.
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