ZAPOPAN, Mexico – Despite his dropping a first-inning pop-up that led to the Tomateros de Culiacan falling into an early hole, manager Lorenzo Bundy never lost confidence in the player who made the error.
With plenty of time to atone for his error, second baseman Carlos Sepulveda went on to go 2-for-4, scored two runs, and hit a triple in the bottom of the eighth that sparked a six-run rally as the Tomateros erased a three-run deficit to take the final game of round robin at the 2026 Caribbean Series from the Dominican Republic’s Leones del Escogido 10-7.
“I think it gives us a lot of confidence as a team. We were coming off some tough games trying to score runs. I think today the offense woke up when it needed to, and that gives us a lot of confidence,” Tomateros manager Lorenzo Bundy said of the wild comeback win. “It’s true, that’s one of the things baseball is about, having confidence. So, tomorrow we’ll come out strong and try to advance to the final.”
Gustavo Nunez led off the game for the Leones with a high pop behind first base, and the normally sure-handed Sepulveda tracked it down, but the ball popped out of his glove and fell to the turf. Marco Hernandez followed by drawing a walk, and then Socrates Brito doubled to center, scoring Nunez and Hernandez to give Escogido a 2-0 lead before the Tomateros had recorded an out. With one out Cristhian Adames drove in Brito from third with a ground out to first to make it 3-0.
In the bottom of the third, Sepulveda began to make up for his first-inning gaffe, drawing a lead-off walk, and then Allen Cordoba deposited a 1-2 fastball that Leones starter Radhames Liz left up in the zone into the left field bleachers to cut the Escogido lead to 3-2.
Sepulveda is “my guy that I can depend on every day when he comes to the ballpark, he’s ready” Bundy said of Sepulveda, with a smile. “He doesn’t get high, he doesn’t get low. He kinda reminds me of myself, except that he doesn’t hit home runs.”
Franchy Cordero led off the fourth for Escogido, hitting a screaming drive to right field that never got more than 40 feet off the ground and used every bit of its 111.4 mph exit velocity off his bat to carry over the wall in the corner for a solo homer. Jimmy Paredes followed with a single, and when Gustavo Nunez ripped a two-out double to the right field corner, he chugged around the bases. A perfect relay from right fielder Yadir Drake to Sepulveda to catcher Alex Solis cut down Paredes at the plate and kept the lead at two.
Two innings later, Cordero again led off the inning with a solo homer, this time launching another fastball up in the zone to the right center field power alley, over the wall, the digital billboard above the wall, and the scoreboard above the billboard, a shot that, according to Trackman data, went 494 feet into the Jalisco night.
That brought Bundy out to replace starter Manny Barreda with Francisco Haro, but there wasn’t much of an immediate effect. On his sixth pitch after coming through the bullpen door, Jimmy Paredes hit a solo homer to right field to make it 6-2.
Trailing by four, the Tomateros cut into the lead again in the top of the seventh. After a leadoff single from Luis Verdugo, Estevan Florial drew a walk, and then a one-out single by Sepulveda scored Verdugo to make it 6-3.
Parrying again, the Leones got a single from Socrates Brito in the seventh, who stole second, and one pitch later stole third, scoring when the throw from Tomateros catcher Ali Solis went into the left field corner to make it 7-3.
Punching back, the Tomateros got one back in the seventh on a sac fly by Victor Mendoza, and then cut further into the lead in the eighth. Sepulveda led off with a triple, and then Cordoba got hit by a pitch to give Culiacan runners at the corner with no outs.
Swinging at the first pitch from Greg Minier, Rodolfo Amador hit a single to right center that scored Sepulveda, advanced Cordoba to third, and chased Minier from the game.
With Conner Greene on the mound, Yadir Drake lashed a single to center, scoring Amador, and when the throw from Leones center fielder Socrates Brito skipped toward the first base dugout, Amador scored to tie the game at seven apiece. A sac fly to left by Joey Meneses scored Drake to give the Tomateros a lead for the first time in the game.
Despite recording another out when Mendoza flew out to right, the eighth inning got worse for Escogido when Luis Verdugo singled, and Estevan Florial, a former Leone del Esogido, followed him by hitting a two-run homer down the right field line and over the bleachers to give Culiacan a 10-7 lead.
“I think it’s a mix of emotions, but at the end of the day, the jersey I’m wearing is Mexico’s. I’m proud to wear it, and I’m proud that they gave me the opportunity to play with them,” Florial said in Spanish following the game when asked what it meant to him to have dealt the final blow to Escogido. “Right now I’m wearing the Mexico jersey, and being able to go there and help and contribute in a big way is great. That’s the best thing, for sure.”
With the come-from-behind win, the Tomateros finished round robin play 2-2 and earned a semifinal rematch with the Leones tomorrow at 3 p.m. EST with a trip to the championship game on the line. David Reyes will start for the Tomateros against Oscar De La Cruz for the Leones.
The late semifinal will see the Charros de Jalisco face Puerto Rico’s Cangrejeros de Santurce at 7 p.m.
2026 Caribbean Series Schedule
All times Eastern Standard Time
* – If either or both Mexico teams advance to the semifinals, they will play the late game regardless of seeding.
MEX-G – Mexico Green
MEX-R – Mexico Red
PR – Puerto Rico
DR – Dominican Republic
PAN – Panama
Sunday, Feb. 1
Cangrejeros de Santurce (PR) 5, Tomateros de Culiacán (MEX-G) 4
Leones del Escogido (DR) 5, Charros de Jalisco (MEX-R) 4
Monday, Feb. 2
Leones del Escogido (DR) 5, Cangrejeros de Santurce (PR) 3
Charros de Jalisco (MEX-R) 11, Federales de Chiriquí (PAN) 4
Tuesday, Feb. 3
Tomateros de Culiacan (MEX-G) 2, Federales de Chiriqui (PAN) 1
Charros de Jalisco (MEX-R) 3, Cangrejeros de Santurce (PR) 0
Wednesday, Feb. 4
Leones del Escogido (DR) 16, Federales de Chiriquí (PAN) 15
Charros de Jalisco (MEX-R) 4, Tomateros de Culiacán (MEX-G) 2
Thursday, Feb. 5
Cangrejeros de Santurce (PR) 8, Federales de Chiriquí (PAN) 3
Leones del Escogido (DR) vs. Tomateros de Culiacán (MEX-G)
Friday, Feb. 6
3 p.m. – Tomateros de Culiacan vs. Leones del Escogido – Semifinal 1*
8 p.m. – Charros de Jalisco vs. Cangrejeros de Santurce – Semifinal 2*
Saturday, Feb. 7
8 p.m. – Championship Game
Photo: Carlos Sepulveda of the Tomateros de Culiacan dropped a pop-up in the first inning, but scored two runs and sparked an eighth-inning rally with a leadoff triple as the Tomateros beat the Leones del Escogido 10-7. (Photo courtesy of CBPC)
