MEXICO – First half champion Mazatlan has had their troubles in the early going of the Mexican Pacific League’s second half, but the Hermosillo Naranjeros are holding off resurgent Culiacan at the top of the Mex Pac standings.

Hermosillo has won 12 of their first 18 games to take a narrow half-game lead over the 11-6 Tomateros, who have turned things around for new manager Francisco Estrada. Navojoa is in third place at 10-8 despite winning just two games last week, while Obregon rounds out the first division at 8-9.

Los Mochis and Guasave are tied for fifth place at 8-10, while Mazatlan and Mexicali are tied for last with 7-11 records. The Venados, who cruised to the first-half title, have already lost more games in the second half than they did while going 25-10 over their first 35 games to take first place by four games. Mazatlan has won three of their last four games, however.

TIGHT RACES IN OTHER THREE CARIBBEAN LOOPS

Magallenes, Escogido and Arecibo are all on top of the standings in the Venezuelan, Dominican and Puerto Rican Leagues, respectively, but it hasn’t been easy for any of them.

Magallenes has a 34-18 record to hold a one-game advantage over 33-19 Caracas in the Venezuelan League. Zulia is in third place at 27-25. Lara shortstop Alcedes Escobar leads the league with a .403 batting average, while Margarita pitcher Carlos Monasterios has the most wins with 7 victories in 9 decisions.

Escogido leads the Dominican League at 26-17, but 2008 Caribbean Series champion Licey and the Este Toros are right behind at 25-18. Ex-big leaguer Timo Perez leads the LiDom with a .352 batting average for Licey. Perez hit .323 for Veracruz in the Mexican League in 2009. Another MLB vet, Cibaenas’ John Halama, is 4-1 and a league-best 2.45 ERA.

In Puerto Rico, 12-8 Arecibo barely leads 11-8 Carolina in the tables. Carolina catcher Orlando Mercado, Jr. is hitting .429 in 14 games to lead the league, but the best offensive performer has been Arecibo’s Michel Abreu, who tops the circuit with 7 homers and 24 RBIs along with a .343 average. Ponce’s Juan Padilla is 4-0 with a 2.63 ERA in 8 games (2 starts).

THIS WEEK IN THE MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE

1. HERMOSILLO NARANJEROS (12-6)
Hermosillo won four of six games last week to maintain first place in the Mex Pac, winning two apiece from Navojoa and Los Mochis. OF Luis Alfonso Garcia is only batting .254, but his 18 homers are best in the league and his 43 RBIs are tied for second. Naranjeros P Juan Delgadillo is 4-3 with a 3.41 ERA.

2. CULIACAN TOMATEROS (11-6)
Culiacan kept pace with Hermosillo by winning two games against Mazatlan and registering two wins and a 12-inning tie in Obregon. 3B Mike Cervenak stands third in the LMP with a .361 average, second in RBIs with 43 and fifth in homers with 10. No Tomateros pitcher has more than 3 wins, however.

3. NAVOJOA MAYOS (10-8)
Navojoa fell out of first place by losing four of six games, including a pair of losses to Hermosillo and two more defeats against Mexicali. P Tim Gustafson has been outstanding, with a 5-1 record and a 2.93 ERA in 9 starts. OF Matt Young leads the Mayos with a .294 batting average and 16 steals.

4. OBREGON YAQUIS (8-9)
Obregon won three games in a row against Mexicali, then dropped a pair with Culiacan before ending their series with a 4-4, 12-inning tie against the Tomateros. DH Erubiel Durazo has hit .321 with 5 homers in 24 games since joining the Yaquis last month. OF John Mayberry Jr. was placed on the disabled list after hitting .313 with 7 homers.

5. LOS MOCHIS CANEROS (8-10)
Los Mochis didn’t have the best of weeks, winning once and losing twice to both Guasave and Hermosillo to fall below .500 in the second half. 1B Sandy Madera leads LMP batters with a .414 average in 52 games, but 11 pitchers have started for the Caneros (none has more than 2 wins). There is no stopper in Mochis.

5. GUASAVE ALGODONEROS (8-10)
Guasave went 3-3 last week, with the Algodoneros winning two of three against Los Mochis before dropping two out of three contests with Mazatlan. 3B Yurendell de Caster has hit .346 in 13 games, and 1B Japhet Amador is batting .315 in part-time duty. P Jim McGrane is 5-3 with a 3.93 ERA, but has struggled a little of late.

7. MEXICALI AGUILAS (7-11)
The top two LMP teams in the first half are tied for last in the second, as Mexicali lost five straight games (including three in a row to Obregon) before taking two from Navajoa. Four Aguilas are among the LMP’s top six batter (Brad Snyder is at .375). P Kameron Loe is 2-1 over his last 3 starts, including 5 shutout innings against Mazatlan on Nov. 28.

7. MAZATLAN VENADOS (7-11)
Mazatlan got off to a horrible second-half start before winning once in Culiacan and taking two of three at home against Guasave to pull the Venados into a tie for seventh place. 1B John Lindsey has hit .312 with 10 homers, while OF Jon Weber has hit .384 over 30 games. P Pablo Ortega has been super (7-2, 2.18), topping the LMP in both wins and ERA.

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Bruce Baskin is Producer/Editor of BASEBALL MEXICO

Photo courtesy of naranjeros.com.mx

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