If you’re going to come go after the king, you’d better not miss, or so the saying goes.
The same, it would seem, could be said of a sultan. Or the Sultanes de Monterrey.
And the Charros de Jalisco, who finished sixth in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol’s Zona Norte in the regular season, didn’t miss in the playoffs, defeating the Zona Norte’s regular season champion eight times over two series in the 2025 LMB Playoffs, the final blow coming last night with a 6-4 Charros win in 10 innings to earn a berth in the 100th Serie del Rey. It’s the Guadalajara-based club’s first berth in the LMB title series in 52 years.
Josh Fuentes went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, including two coming on a double in the top of the 10th innings, to push Jalisco past Monterrey.
Josh Lester’s sixth homer of the playoffs gave Monterrey a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third, launching an 0-1 pitch from Zac Grotz into the right field bullpen.
¡Tabla que abre la pizarra! 🧨
Josh Lester 👳🏻♂️ inaugura el score 💥 con fuerte cuadrangular de ✌️ carreras #CienAñosSiendoElRey👑 pic.twitter.com/73OrzYknj7
— Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (@LigaMexBeis) September 6, 2025
In the top of the fourth, Willie Calhoun’s sixth homer of the playoffs and third in two games tied the game for Jalisco. Three batters later, Fuentes’ double to the left center field gap scored Kyle Garlick to give Jalisco a 3-2 lead.
¡Vuelta jalisciense! 💪🏻
Kyle Garlick 🤠 corre a toda velocidad 🏃♂️ y anota la carrera de la ventaja 💥 para Jalisco #CienAñosSiendoElRey👑 pic.twitter.com/kpeM6KovU0
— Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (@LigaMexBeis) September 6, 2025
An inning later, Mateo Gil scooted home and scored without a slide to make it 4-2 on a wild pitch when Stephen Tarpley’s 1-2 offering bounded towards the first base dugout.
In the eighth, the Sultanes tied the game at four apiece when Ramiro Pena’s second homer of the playoffs, a two-run shot, cleared the right field bullpen just inside the foul pole.
And then Fuentes delivered in the clutch in the 10th for the Charros. With two outs and runners on second and third, the former Colorado Rockies infielder doubled off the right field wall to score Gil and Calhoun and give Jalisco a 6-4 lead.
On came closer Trevor Clifton, who allowed two hits in the bottom of the 10th but escaped a runners-at-the-corners and one out jam to earn his seventh save of the postseason by getting Esteban Quiroz to hit into a 3-6-3 double play.
Starter Zac Grotz allowed two runs on five hits over six innings for Jalisco, and following the homer by Pena, Josh Green and Sasagi Sanchez combined to stifle the Sultanes’ bats over 2 2/3 innings, with Green allowing two walks and Clifton allowing two hits.
With the win, the Charros advance to face either the Piratas de Campeche or the Diablos Rojos del Mexico in the 100th Serie del Rey, which will begin on Sept. 10 in the city of the winner of the Zona Sur’s Serie Campeonato.
Zona Sur Game Six Tonight – The Diablos Rojos del Mexico will have the opportunity to advance to their second consecutive Serie del Rey tonight at 6 p.m. EDT when they host the Piratas de Campeche in game six of the Zona Sur Serie Campeonato. Jake Thompson will start for Campeche against Brooks Hall for Mexico City.
It’s Been a While – In the United States, a team’s history generally travels with the franchise, but in the LMB, it’s somewhat different, as team histories generally are credited to teams in the same city with the same name. There have been four incarnations of the Charros in the LMB, with the original squad playing from 1949-52, and then other teams taking the moniker from 1964-76 and 1991-95. The current franchise started as the Mariachis de Guadalajara in 2020 and were bought by the ownership of the Charros’ Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico franchise, giving them a franchise in each of Mexico’s major leagues with the same name.
However you decide to interpret it, the last time a Charros de Jalisco squad made the Serie del Rey was 1971, when Benjamin Reyes’ club beat the Saraperos de Saltillo four games to three to take the title. This year marks the third time the Charros have made the Serie del Rey, with the team also having played for a title in 1950, when they lost to the Algodoneros de Union Laguna. They won their first LMB title 17 years later in 1967, but there was no championship series that year.
Among the current crop of LMB clubs, the Charros have the second-longest title drought, trailing only the Algodoneros de Union Laguna, who last won it all in 1950.
Serie del Rey Schedule Adjusted – The schedule for the Serie del Rey has been pushed back a day due to weather delays earlier in the playoffs. The series will now begin on Sept. 10 in the winner of the Zona Sur’s ballpark, with game two on Sept. 11. Games three, four, and five will be Sept. 13-15 in either Jalisco or Monterrey, with games six and seven scheduled for Sept. 17-18 in either Mexico City or Campeche.
Where to Watch – All LMB games are streamed on LMB.tv for a fee.
Serie Campeonato Full Schedule
All times Eastern Daylight Time
* – If Necessary
August 30
Piratas de Campeche 4, Diablos Rojos del Mexico 2
August 31
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 6, Piratas de Campeche 4
Charros de Jalisco 11, Sultanes de Monterrey 9
September 1
Charros de Jalisco 6, Sultanes de Monterrey 3
September 2
Piratas de Campeche 5, Diablos Rojos del Mexico 3
September 3
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 7, Piratas de Campeche 5
Sultanes de Monterrey 3, Charros de Jalisco 1
September 4
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 5, Piratas de Campeche 4
Charros de Jalisco 6, Sultanes de Monterrey 4
September 5
Charros de Jalisco 6, Sultanes de Monterrey 4
September 6
6 p.m. – Piratas de Campeche at Diablos Rojos del Mexico – Game 6*
September 7
4 p.m. – Piratas de Campeche at Diablos Rojos del Mexico – Game 7*
Photo: The Charros de Jalisco celebrate their first trip to the Serie del Rey since 1971. (Photo courtesy of the Charros de Jalisco)
