ZAPOPAN, Mexico – The Diablos Rojos del Mexico had the mark just as plain as day, as the song says. They would not be denied their second consecutive sweep of the Serie del Rey, the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol’s championship series.
One win away from the title, the Diablos exploded for five runs in the first two innings while their starter, Efrain Contreras, stifled the bats of the Charros de Jalisco, for 4 2/3 innings, allowing two hits, two walks and striking out six before turning the game over to the top bullpen in the LMB.
The Diablos bullpen bent, allowing three runs on eight hits — the only runs they allowed over the four games of the series — but didn’t break, locking down the 7-3 win for manager Lorenzo Bundy and the Diablos, who claimed their 18th LMB championship.
“This is a good place to hit. So our pitchers did a great job,” said Bundy, who won his second championship as manager of the Diablos and fifth in a Diablos uniform. He won three as a player in four seasons from 1895-87. “I pushed my bullpen pretty hard. But they responded. My starters were, during the regular season, they scuffled a little bit. But in the playoffs, they’ve given me what I needed to get to my guys in the sixth inning.”
Wasting no time, Carlos Sepulveda and Allen Cordoba drew walks to start off the top of the first. Sepulveda advanced to third when Robinson Cano flew out to center field, then scored when Julian Ornelas singled to right with Cordoba moving to third. When Jose Marmolejos popped out in foul ground behind the plate, Ornelas danced off first and drew a throw from Charros catcher Carlos Mendivil, and while Ornelas was caught in a rundown, Cordoba scored to make it 2-0.
An inning later, Jose Pirela led off with a double, then scored when Rio Ruiz laid a bunt down the third-base line and the throw from Jalisco third baseman Josh Fuentes short-hopped Ryan Garlick at first. At that point, Charros manager Benji Gil lifted starter Eduardo Vera after a single inning and two batters for Aaron McGarrity, who got Carlos Perez to ground into a double play.
¡La pelota sí picó! 🗣️
Ninguno de los jardineros logra quedarse con el elevado 😱 de Córdoba y entran dos carreras más. ➕#CienAñosSiendoElRey👑 pic.twitter.com/4bYHChwX0h
— Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (@LigaMexBeis) September 14, 2025
But the bounces continued to go the Diablos way. Juan Carlos Gamboa hit a pop fly to left that was nearly caught by Charros left fielder Johneshwy Fargas, but bounced off the turf for a base hit and then caromed off Fargas’ right leg, allowing Gamboa to take second. Sepulveda drew a walk, and then a pop fly to shallow right center by Cordoba fell in for a double when Charros right fielder Dwight Smith Jr., second baseman Michael Wielansky, and Garlick came together but couldn’t make a catch. While they retrieved the ball, Gamboa and Sepulveda scored to make it 5-0 Diablos.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the fourth that the Charros got a runner to scoring position, when Mallex Smith hit a one-out single to right and moved over when Michael Wielansky walked, but Contreras fanned Willie Calhoun and Mateo Gil swinging to end the inning.
In the top of the fifth, Robinson Cano led off with a single to right field, and two batters later, Jose Marmolejos clobbered a homer, his fifth of the playoffs, over the right field wall to give the Diablos a 7-0 lead.
¡Para la calle! 🛣️
Marmolejos 👹 explota el madero y extiende la ventaja escarlata. 🆙#CienAñosSiendoElRey👑 pic.twitter.com/i1CKtd2tJY
— Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (@LigaMexBeis) September 15, 2025
“I was just looking for a pitch. I kind of went in the pitcher’s mind, and I got the pitch that I wanted and executed it,” Marmolejos said on the field, covered in champagne and holding the Serie del Rey MVP trophy. Through the series, Marmolejos went 10-for-16 with two homers, three RBIs, and six runs scored.
Contreras yielded to Nick Vespi with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, finishing off the five-inning workload that Lorenzo Bundy planned to get out of his starter by getting Alfredo Hurtado to ground out to short.
“We passed the baton off to one another, and we continue to get the job done,” said Vespi of the Diablos’ bullpen, who earned the win, his fifth of the playoffs, pitching 1/3 of an inning and facing one batter. “[Lorenzo Bundy] has trusted them all year long, and we’ve just thank Skip for putting us in in these situations to win the ballgame for us. … This team is unbelievable. We’re a group, we work together and we love to win.”
From there, the veteran manager called upon the four horsemen of his bullpen, with Kevin Gowdy allowing two hits in a scoreless sixth.
In the bottom of the seventh, Donny Sands drew a two-out walk from Diablos reliever Jimmy Yacabonis and advanced to third on a single by Alfredo Hurtado, but then Johneshwy Fargas grounded into a fielder’s choice at second, ending the inning when Hurtado was forced out.
An inning later, the speedy Mallex Smith led off the inning with a walk for the Charros off J.C. Mejia, then got the home club on the board when Willie Calhoun hit a one-out single to center. After striking out Mateo Gil for the second out, Mejia left the game with Calhoun on first and one out, with closer Tomohiro Anraku coming out of the bullpen.
Anraku’s third pitch went a long way, and unfortunately, it went a long way off the bat of Dwight Smith Jr., who crushed it down the right field line mere feet inside the foul pole but yards beyond the wall for a two-run homer to cut the Diablos lead to 7-3.
Drew Stankiewicz led off the ninth for the Charros with a pinch-hit single, but Anraku induced a lined shot from Alfredo Hurtado that went to Diablos’ shortstop Juan Carlos Gamboa for the first out. A 1-2 changeup from Anraku sent Fargas down swinging, and then Mallex Smith hit a weak grounder back to the mound that Anraku easily handled and tossed to first for the final out, with the Diablos spilling out of the dugout and bullpen to celebrate their second title in as many years on the turf between the mound and first base.
Standing on the turf behind second base following the on-field celebration, Bundy, who’s first managing gig was with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Expos in 1990, was all smiles.
“Things are a little bit different, because as a player, you feel like you’re doing something to affect the game. As a manager, you have to make decisions. But it’s different. … As a manager, you’re sitting there, and you’re watching, and you’re depending on your guys to do the job. That’s the tough part. But we have been very successful here,” Bundy said while cracking open a can of beer as Diablos owner Alfredo Harp Helu posed with the trophy on a stage nearby.
“I’ve been blessed. Six years in the organization, five championships. I’m a Diablo for life.”
Where to Watch – All four games of the Serie del Rey were streamed live on YouTube via Claro Sports and will be available on their YouTube page to watch for a limited time. Links to each game broadcast are below.
2025 Serie del Rey Schedule
All times Eastern Daylight Time
* – If necessary
September 10
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 8, Charros de Jalisco 4
Live Stream on YouTube via Claro Sports
September 11
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 12, Charros de Jalisco 1
Live Stream on YouTube via Claro Sports
September 13
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 7, Charros de Jalisco 2
Live Stream on YouTube via Claro Sports
September 14
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 7, Charros de Jalisco 3
Live Stream on YouTube via Claro Sports
Photo: Robinson Cano of the Diablos Rojos del Mexico celebrates after winning the 2025 Serie del Rey at Estadio Panamericano in Guadalajara, Mexico. (Photo courtesy of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol)
