LAMP: Aguilas de Mexicali Fire Pat Listach On Christmas Day, Top Tomateros As Vizcarra Takes Over

Now that’s a lump of coal in the stocking if there ever was one.

The Aguilas de Mexicali fired Pat Listach as manager, replacing the former Milwaukee Brewer with Mexican Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Vizcarra as the season gets down to the wire.

Listach took over a 12-14 club from Oscar Robles on Nov. 14 and went 20-17, which wasn’t good enough for the powers that be. With a 14-14 mark in the second half, the Aguilas could finish as high as first with a lot of good luck or as low as ninth in the second half if everything goes against them. Either way, the Aguilas are likely to be in the playoffs with a low seed.

Yaquis de Obregon (36-27) 4, Venados de Mazatlan (21-42) 3 – A seventh-inning RBI single by Victor Marquez got the Yaquis past Mazatlan on Christmas Day. Alfredo Hurtado had an RBI single, Victor Mendoza drove in a run with a sac fly, and Kevin Villavicenio squeezed home a run with a bunt in the three-run fourth for Obregon, which got back to .500 in the second half with a 14-14 record. Antonis Macias went 4-for-5 with a run scored for Mazatlan.

Charros de Jalisco (36-27) 9, Algodoneros de Guasave (22-41) 2 – Ronald Medrano allowed two runs on three hits over 6 1/3 innings, walking three and striking out seven, and the Charros provided him more than enough run support to unwrap a win over Guasave on Christmas Day. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored, clubbing two RBI singles for the Charros. Orlando Pina had an RBI single for Guasave.

Caneros de Los Mochis (35- 28) 6, Jaguares de Nayarit (38-25) 5 – Eric Filia went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two walks, hitting a two-run double in the first that gave the Caneros an early lead. Nick Williams’ RBI single that score Jose Verdugo in the eighth gave Chris Coste’s club a 6-5 win. Yoanner Negrin threw five solid innings, allowing two runs on six hits with five strikeouts for Los Mochis, which improved to 14-14 with five games to go in the second half.

Aguilas de Mexicali (32-31) 10, Tomateros de Culiacan (36-27) 5 – Estevan Florial hit his sixth homer of the season, had a double, and scored twice, Raudy Read hit a solo homer of his own, and J.P. Martinez went 4-for-4 with two RBIs as the Aguilas doubled up the Tomateros. David Reyes allowed three runs on nine hits over five innings for Mexicali, walking one and striking out six.

Transactions for Dec. 25

Aguilas de Mexicali – Fired manager Pat Listach and named Roberto Vizcarra manager. Retroactive to Dec. 22, OF Cade Gotta is inactive, and he may be activated on Dec. 27. OF Manuel Orduño takes his place on the active roster. Retroactive to Nov. 15, OF Antonio Castañeda is placed on inactive status and may be activated on Dec. 26. C Alen Pineda takes his place on the active roster. Retroactive to Dec. 17, RHP Sergio García-Reepper is inactive and may be activated on Dec. 26. LHP Alonso Becerra takes his place on the active roster.

Yaquis de Obregon – Retroactive to Dec. 23, deactivated OF Braulio Cavero, who may be activated Dec. 26, and C Fernando Villalobos takes his place on the active roster.

Caneros de Los Mochis – Retroactive to Dec. 22, deactivated IF Rodolfo Amador, who may be activated Dec. 27, and OF Carlos Figueroa takes his place on the active roster.

Algodoneros de Guasave – Retroactive to Dec. 24, LHP Ian Medina has been placed on the inactive list. He is eligible to be activated on Dec. 26, and RHP Víctor Buelna has taken his place on the active roster. Retroactive to Dec. 22, RHP Kevin Ribón has been placed on the inactive list. He is eligible to be activated on Dec. 26, and LHP Ariel Gracia has taken his place on the active roster. Retroactive to Dec. 23, RHP Mario García has been placed on the inactive list. He is eligible to be activated on Dec. 26, and OF Rafael Franco has taken his place on the active roster.

Tomateros de Culiacan – Retroactive to Dec. 21, deactivated RHP Cristhofer Lozoya, who may be activated Dec. 26, and RHP Fernando Olguín takes his place on the active roster.

Venados de Mazatlan – Retroactive to Dec. 21, C Jorge Morales has been placed on the inactive list. He is eligible to be activated on Dec. 26, and IF Santiago Gómez has been added to the active roster. Retroactive to Dec. 24, RHP Raúl Castellón has been placed on the inactive list. He is eligible to be activated on Dec. 26, and RHP Oscar Rojas has been added to the active roster.

Jaguares de Nayarit – Retroactive to Dec. 12, RHP Arturo Roque has been placed on the inactive list. He is eligible to be activated on Dec. 26, and RHP Carlos Medina has taken his place on the active roster. Retroactive to Dec. 14, RHP Marco Fregozo has been placed on the inactive list. He is eligible to be activated on Dec. 26, and RHP Joel Rangel has taken his place on the active roster.

Charros de Jalisco – Retroactive to Dec. 20, deactivated RHP Edgar Manzo, who may be activated Dec. 26, and OF Christian Morales takes his place on the active roster.

Friday’s Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico Schedule
All times Eastern Standard Time
8:30 p.m. – Algodoneros de Guasave at Charros de Jalisco
9:05 p.m. – Aguilas de Mexicali at Tomateros de Culiacan
9:10 p.m. – Venados de Mazatlan at Yaquis de Obregon
9:30 p.m. – Jaguares de Nayarit at Caneros de Los Mochis
9:30 p.m. – Naranjeros de Hermosillo at Tucson Baseball Team – Played in Hermosillo

Photo: Estevan Florial hit his sixth homer of the season as the Aguilas de Mexicali won Roberto Vizcarra’s managerial debut. (Photo courtesy of the Aguilas de Mexicali)