When the Diablos Rojos del Mexico hit the field at “el Diamante del Fuego” — the diamond of fire, as Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu has been nicknamed — for game one of the 2025 Serie del Rey, they’ll be a heavy favorite, and for good reason.
They’re the defending champions.
They ran away with the Zona Sur title in the regular season, going 63-25.
At the plate, Lorenzo Bundy’s club has five starters getting on base at better than a .400 clip, and five batting over .300 in the postseason, with Robinson Cano leading all remaining players with a .400 average, having gone 22-for-55 in the postseason. They hit, they run, they bunt, they draw walks, and they manufacture runs efficiently, outscoring their opponents by more than a two-to-one margin (103-48) despite hitting just 11 homers in 14 games during the postseason.
And while they may not have Trevor Bauer, the pitcher-in-exile who put together one of the best seasons in Liga Mexicana de Beisbol history in 2024 and then put the team on his back in game seven of last year’s Serie Campeonato against Oaxaca to get them to the Serie del Rey, their pitching is just as strong. Through 126 1/3 playoff innings, the Diablos have allowed just 48 runs, 42 of them earned, for a team ERA of 2.96 — a full point better than the Charros, who are second with a 4.04 mark — as they’ved mowed down the Leones de Yucatan, Pericos de Puebla, and Piratas de Campeche in the playoffs, and have 100 strikeouts against just 48 walks.
In the other dugout, Benji Gil’s Charros, who finished sixth in the Zona Norte during the regular season with a 46-46 record, run hot and cold. When their bats are hot, they win, and when they’re not, well… they don’t. The Charros live and die by the RBI double and the home run, and have more extra base hits, 57, than the Diablos, who have 50, a play a similar offensive game to the Piratas de Campeche, the Diablos’ opponent in the Zona Sur Serie Campeonato.
The Piratas, who lead the playoffs with 30 homers, have been the only team to pin losses on the Diablos in these playoffs, winning when they were able to get both pitching and clutch hitting. To take game one of the Serie Campeonato, they stifled the Diablos at the plate in the late innings, with five relievers combining to allow just five baserunners over the final five innings in a 4-2 in, and in game three, they limited the Diablos to just eight baserunners and got a three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th.
For the Charros to win the Serie del Rey in their first appearance in 54 years, they’ll need to get good pitching and get runs off the stingiest pitching staff in the LMB in the Diablos, early and often.
The 2025 Serie del Rey At a Glance
Charros de Jalisco (46-46 Regular Season, Sixth Place in Zona Norte)
Key Players – No single player sparks the Charros offense, but if you had to pick one, Kyle Garlick (20 RBI, 6 2B, 5 HR) is a good choice. Designated hitter Willie Calhoun (.377/.458/.667, 6 HR, 17 RBI) and Josh Fuentes (.328, 17 RBI, 5 2B) are key to the offense, with Mateo Gil (.324, 4 HR, 14 RBI) providing base hits and occasional power.
Key Pitchers – Expect to see starters Zac Grotz (six appearances, 32 innings, 3.38 ERA) and Luis Payan (five appearances, 29 1/3 innings, 2.45 ERA) throw twice should the series go seven games. Closer Trevor Clifton has made 11 appearances, earning seven saves in nine opportunities, throwing 12 2/3 innings.