Cade Gotta’s homer and an RBI double from Yadiel Hernandez got the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos got the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos a lead in the top of the first.
They promptly squandered it, allowing six runs over the first three innings, as the Sultanes de Monterrey battled back to take game one of the Serie de Campeonato in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol’s Zona Norte 9-5 on Friday night.
In the bottom of the first, Roberto Valenzuela’s hot grounder eluded Laredos second baseman Ali Castillo, allowing Sebastian Elizalde to score, and four pitches later, Victor Mendoza homered to right field. Laredo had a 3-2 lead that they would not relinquish.
An inning later, Elizalde added a two-run homer of his own, and in the third, Jose Cardona’s RBI single gave Dos Laredos a 6-2 lead.
Cardona drove in another run in the sixth, grounding out to second with runners at the corners, allowing Victor Mendoza to scoot home.
Asael Sanchez hit a two-run homer in the sixth that gave the Sultanes a 9-2 lead.
Starter Julio Teheran went five innings for Monterrey, allowing two runs on three hits, striking out five and walking two.
Dos Laredos cut into the lead, getting an RBI single from Cade Gotta in the seventh and a two-run homer from Freddy Galvis in the ninth, but were never able to get close.
Game two of the series is Saturday evening at 9 p.m. EDT at Monterrey’s Estadio Exxon Mobil Super, with Nate Antone starting for Dos Laredos against Jared Lakind for Monterrey.
NOTEBOOK: This is the fifth time the Tecolotes and the Sultanes have met in the LMB Playoffs. The Tecos have won three of the previous four meetings, including the first playoff series between the two teams in 1989, a year in which the Tecos won the Serie del Rey. The teams have met in the playoffs each of the last two years, with the Sultanes beating the Tecos four games to one in 2022 in the second round, and the Tecos exacting revenge last season, beating Monterrey four games to two in the second round. The Tecos won the regular season series between the two teams in 2024 with a 6-3 mark.
