MEXICO CITY – It’s hard to pitch at 7,300 feet of elevation in Mexico City.
Former Diablos Rojos del Mexico pitcher Trevor Bauer, who won a Cy Young Award in Major League Baseball, compared pitching at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu, the Diablos’ home park here, to pitching on the moon. The thinner air makes breaking balls break less and fastballs not move at all, which makes the ballpark a hitter’s paradise and a pitcher’s nightmare.
But Kane County Cougars starter Brandon Komar had no trouble with the altitude, going five scoreless innings and allowing just three hits, striking out five and walking none, as the Cougars mauled the Cocodrilos de Matanzas of Cuba’s Serie Nacional, taking a 9-0 victory in the first shutout in a Baseball Champions League game played at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu.
“It’s been tough for everybody, except for with Brandon today and the way we pitched today,” said Kane County manager George Tsamis of the thin air in Mexico City. “But it’s tough. Games are never over here. It’s just tough. You got to keep the ball down. And I can’t say enough on what a great job Brandon did today.”
Arriving in Mexico City, Komar said of the altitude, “The first couple days down here, it took a little bit of getting used to, but once I kind of found that feel and everything, everything started to click.”
Attacking the zone with a fastball and using that to set up a sinker and a changeup, Komar kept the Matanzas quiet and was remarkably efficient doing it, using just 24 pitches over the first two innings and 59 in total.
Playing against Matanzas, a team with very few players who’ve played outside of Cuba can present a challenge, but Komar said, “The biggest thing is just understand your game plan and just trust your stuff and your ability and just go make it happen.”
And while Komar was making it happen on the mound, the Cougars’ lineup made it happen at the plate.
Leading off the second, Todd Lott’s comebacker to the mound bounced off Matanzas starter Brander Guevara and skittered to short, where Luis Mateo made a good throw to first, but Lott beat it to the bag. Max Murphy’s one-out single and a walk to Juan Fernandez loaded the bases for Claudio Finol, who grounded into a fielder’s choice at short, allowing Lott to score when Finol beat out the double-play relay.
In the top of the fourth, the Cougars clawed the game open, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring seven runs, including a three-run homer by Armond Upshaw that carried and carried in the thin air of Mexico City until it was over the wall for a three-run homer, and then two batters later, Todd Lott hit a two-run homer into the left field bullpen to make it 9-0.
In total, Comar faced 19 batters, and only Matanzas’ Jose Norona made it to scoring position, swiping second after a one-out single in the second, but Komar then struck out Andrys Perez, who was on Cuba’s World Baseball Classic roster, and Henyelo Videt to end the inning.
“For Brandon to come and give us five strong innings like that, he did a great job,” Tsamis said. “And we were really light in the bullpen today, so we needed those five innings. And then Denny [Larrondo] came in right after, gave us three shutout innings, and Derek [Cherry] closed it.”
The closest to a threat Cuba would make to score once Komar was in the dugout was in the seventh, when Yasiel Gonzalez was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and then got to second when Andy Cosme was also struck. But again, Videt couldn’t drive them in, popping out in foul territory near third base, and Luis Sanchez grounded out to third to end the inning.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 3-0 and all but assured themselves a spot in Sunday’s championship game, while Matanzas, while not yet eliminated, needs to win its final game against the Diablos Rojos del Mexico on Saturday afternoon by a wide margin to give them a long shot at a berth in Sunday’s finale.
But sitting at 3-0, Tsamis couldn’t help but smile after his Cougars kept their momentum going despite having only come together as a team this week, as the American Association’s regular season doesn’t begin for another six weeks.
“Our guys have done a really nice job,” said Tsamis, who has managed the Cougars to the American Association’s Miles Wolff Cup title each of the last two seasons. “The first time together we were on the field was Monday at practice for an hour and a half, and so our guys have come ready to play.”
Where to Watch – GameTime, the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s official streaming platform, will stream every game live. A full tournament pass is available for US$12.99, while a Championship Day pass is priced at US$9.99. Daily access for each round-robin day is available for US$7.99.
The 2026 Baseball Champions League will also be broadcast on television. ESPN will broadcast all 11 games in Mexico, while Canal 13 VIVA will carry the games in Nicaragua, Meridiano Televisión will televise the event in Venezuela, and Tele Rebelde will carry the games in Cuba.
2026 Baseball Champions League Schedule
All times Eastern Daylight Time
All games at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu, Mexico City
March 24
Dantos de Managua 17, CTBC Brothers 5
Kane County Cougars 14, Diablos Rojos del Mexico 7
March 25
Cocodrilos de Matanzas 9, CTBC Brothers 8
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 10, Dantos de Managua 6
March 26
Kane County Cougars 16, CTBC Brothers 10
Dantos de Managua 16, Cocodrilos de Matanzas 6
March 27
Kane County Cougars 9, Cocodrilos de Matanzas 0
9 p.m. – Diablos Rojos del Mexico vs. CTBC Brothers
March 28
Noon – Dantos de Managua vs. Kane County Cougars
6 p.m. – Cocodrilos de Matanzas vs. Diablos Rojos del Mexico
March 29
4 p.m. – Championship Game
Photo: Dillon Thomas and the Kane County Cougars are 3-0 at the Baseball Champions League in Mexico City. (Photo Courtesy of the WBSC)
