LMB: Streaking Sultanes Take Series and First Place From Tecos; Vizcarra Takes Helm In Oaxaca

Riding an five-game win streak entering their weekend series with the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos, the Sultanes de Monterrey kept swinging their swords, sweeping the Tecos to take first place in the Zona Norte and extend their streak to eight consecutive wins.

The first two games of the series weren’t particularly close, with the Sultanes taking Friday’s game at Uni-Trade Stadium in Laredo, Texas, 9-0 behind five shutout innings from former New York Yankees starter Luis Cessa and homers from Zoilo Almonte and Josh Lester. On Saturday at Parque la Junta in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, the Sultanes produced a 10-1 win despite allowing the Tecos nine hits. On Sunday, Nolan Kingham allowed one run on five hits over 5 1/3 innings as Monterrey won 3-1.

The sweep gives the Sultanes a two-game lead in the Zona Norte over Dos Laredos. Monterrey (40-24) hosts the Charros de Jalisco (32-33) Tuesday through Thursday and the Toros de Tijuana next weekend.

Roberto Vizcarra Takes Over In Oaxaca – The Guerreros de Oaxaca fired manager Luis Carlos Rivera on Saturday, replacing him with Mexican Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Vizcarra. Oaxaca also handed a pink slip to pitching coach Leyson Septimo and named Roberto Pérez as bench coach, Iván Cervantes as first base coach, Salvador Robles as third base coach, and Ren Matsumoto as the team’s translator.

Oaxaca was 32-32 under Rivera after losing 12-11 at Puebla on Friday in Rivera’s last game as skipper. They lost 15-6 to the Pericos on Saturday before getting Vizcarra his first win with Oaxaca Sunday, when the Guerreros beat Puebla 13-6.

https://twitter.com/GuerrerosOax/status/1941939720428130731

Vizcarra, 58, was inducted into the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023 after a playing career that lasted from 1986 to 2008 in both the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol and the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico. As a manager, Vizcarra has won the Serie del Rey four times, with the Tigres de Quintana Roo in 2013 and 2015 and with the Leones de Yucatan in 2018 and 2022. In the LAMP, Vizcarra managed the Aguilas de Mexicali to the championship in 2016-17 and the Charros de Jalisco to the title in 2017-18 and 2021-22.

Aki Watanabe Breezes Into Oaxaca – Japanese righty Aki Watanabe, who appeared in two games at the 2024 Caribbean Series with the Japan Breeze, signed with Oaxaca last week. Thus far, Watanabe has made two appearances, throwing 1 2/3 innings for Oaxaca, allowing one hit and notching one strikeout.

Watanabe threw a perfect eighth inning with two strikeouts in the Japan Breeze’s 3-2 loss to Puerto Rico at the Caribbean Series during round robin play, but was roughed up in other appearance at the Caribbean Series, throwing 2/3 of an inning in the Breeze’s 10-0 loss to Venezuela’s Cardenales de Lara, allowing three runs on three hits, including a two-run homer to Alexi Amarista that ended the game via mercy rule.

Justus Sheffield Now A Sultan – Justus Sheffield, who last appeared in Major League Baseball with the Seattle Mariners in 2022, was pitching in the Atlantic League with the Gastonia Ghost Peppers last week when his contract was purchased by the Sultanes de Monterrey. Sheffield had thrown 42 2/3 innings over 15 appearances with Gastonia, posting a 5.27 ERA with 33 strikeouts and 24 walks. He has yet to appear in a game for Monterrey.

Bonifacio Released By Toros – Emilio Bonifacio was released by the Toros de Tijuana on July 5. The veteran of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball hit .211/.353/.298 in 36 games with eight RBIs for Tijuana in his first summer season since 2020, when he appeared in his final three MLB games with the Washington Nationals. Bonifacio has played the last eight winter seasons in LIDOM with the Tigres del Licey in his native Dominican Republic, appearing in the 2023 and 2024 Caribbean Series.

Where to Watch – All LMB games are streamed live on LMB.tv for a fee.

Notable Series This Week

July 8-10
Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos (38-27) at Acereros de Monclova (36-28)

July 11-13
Toros de Tijuana (36-29) at Sultanes de Monterrey (41-24)
Leones de Yucatan (31-34) at Olmecas de Tabasco (29-37)

Photo: Roberto Vizcarra, shown here as manager of the Leones de Yucatan, took over as the manager of the Guerreros de Oaxaca this week. (Photo: Leones de Yucatan)