Tonight, the Leones de Yucatan and Tigres de Quintana Roo face off at Estadio Sherwin Williams Beto Avila in Cancun, in what will be the 10th game of the season for both clubs.
It’s hard to believe, especially because the season is just over a week old, but the 10-game mark also means that the 93-game regular is more than 10% finished.
So what have we noticed thus far?
These Tigres Have Some Claws – Both teams playing tonight are 5-4, and the Tigres, who lost quite a bit of offense out of the lineup from 2025, are off to a good start at 5-4 under first-year skipper Hector Espino. First baseman Carlos Castro leads the club with eight RBIs in nine games, and Diosbel Arias and Miles Simington join Castro with 11 hits to lead the team. On the mound, Xzavion Curry has been spectacular, making two starts and posting a 0.82 ERA and a 0.820 WHIP in 11 innings of work thus far. A final record of .500 or just slightly better should get a team into the playoffs, and for right now, the Tigres are right there.
Singleton a Singular Sensation For Diablos – The Diablos Rojos del Mexico have struggled out of the gate, falling below .500 last week and then climbing back to finish the weekend 5-4, but Jon Singleton is in midseason form. The former Houston Astro leads the LMB with six homers and 17 RBIs in just nine games – which means the majority of his base hits (he has 11 this season) have been homers.
On the Hot Seat – There’s no such thing as job security if you manage an LMB team Last season, 16 of the 20 managers who started the season didn’t make it to the end of the season. Two of those that did were Benji Gil of the Charros de Jalisco and Lorenzo Bundy of the Diablos Rojos del Mexico, who both led their teams to the Serie del Rey, with Bundy’s Diablos taking the LMB title in a sweep.
In Saltillo, the Saraperos are off to a 1-7 start under first-year manager Mendy Lopez. His mandate was to get the team in the playoffs, and while you can’t make the playoffs in the first 10 games of the season, you certainly can put yourself on the path to making or missing them. They’ve been outscored 45-33, Alberth Martinez leads the club with just five RBIs, have the second-fewest homers in the league with six, and power-hitter Chris Carter has just one RBI in three games. The good news for Saraperos fans is that the pitchers are doing relatively well: they have the 11th best ERA in the league (5.37) and have walked just 21 batters.
In the Zona Sur, Luis Rivera’s Olmecas de Tabasco are 1-8, have lost five straight, aren’t producing at the plate, and have a 6.95 ERA as a team, which is the fourth-worst in the league. They’ve been outscored 66-51, but the 51 runs they’ve scored are in the middle of the league.
It’s hard to say when, exactly, management will decide it’s time to make a change, and an early-season manager’s firing is less an indictment of the manager than it is of the team management that put the roster together. But both Saltillo and Tabasco are well on their way to missing the playoffs, and something will need to change if either of these clubs hopes to make the playoffs. Usually, the first job to turn over is the manager’s.
Notable Series This Week – In the Zona Norte, the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos (5-4) visit the division-leading Sultanes de Monterrey (7-1) Tuesday through Thursday, and in the Zona Sur, the Leones face the Tigres Monday to Wednesday and the Diablos Rojos (5-4) face the Piratas de Campeche in a rematch from last year’s Serie Campeonato.
Over the weekend, the Charros de Jalisco (5-4) head to Monterrey on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and the Guerreros de Oaxaca, tied for the division lead at 7-2, face the Diablos Rojos at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu in Mexico City.
Where to Watch – All Liga Mexicana de Beisbol games are streamed live with a subscription on LMB TV, and a season subscription is on sale for MX$799 (about US$46) until April 30. Select games are streamed live on the YouTube page for Latin American network Claro Sports.
Monday’s Liga Mexicana de Beisbol Schedule
All times Eastern Daylight Time
8:30 p.m. – Leones de Yucatan (5-4) at Tigres de Quintana Roo (5-4)
Transactions for April 26
Algodoneros de Union Laguna – Waived P Katsunori Hirai. Activated C Joseph Sequera.
Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos – Signed P A.J. Candelario.
Tigres de Quintana Roo – Added Phillip Ervin to its list of players not born in Mexico. Waived P Jalen Oliver Miller. Activated P Pedro Peniche.
Guerreros de Oaxaca – Signed Frank Álvarez. Placed P Reid Birlingmair on the 15-day Injured List.
Piratas de Campeche – Signed P Zach Phillips. Deactivated P Ricky Thomas.
Sultanes de Monterrey – Activated P Erick Rodríguez. Deactivated P Jesús Luna.
Photo: Jon Singleton leads the LMB with six homers and 17 RBIs. (Photo courtesy of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol)
