The opener Luis Fernando Miranda puts his Pitcher of the Year in the Mexican Pacific League credential on the table and showed why he is the holder of it, the offense exploded with a key four-run rally and the Los Mochis Cañeros blanked the hosts, Caracas Lions, for 7-0 this Monday, February 6th at La Rinconada Stadium to become the first team classified for the semifinals of the 2023 Caribbean Series.
Mexico improved its record to 4-1, the first team to reach four victories in the tournament, which guarantees their advancement to the next round with still two games remaining in the elimination stage.
An important test is approaching for the Mexican team since no Mexican team has reached the semifinals since Guadalajara 2018.
¡MEXICO WON! ????????
???????? 7-0 ????????Fourth victory in the 2023 Caribbean Series and we are getting closer to the semifinals ????????
#SomosMéxico ????????#MéxicoXLa10 ???????? ????#LigaARCO ⚾️
The semifinal duel will take place next Thursday, February 9th, with the schedule and opponent yet to be defined
Contrary to the previous three victories where they had to come from behind, the Mexican team showed dominance on both sides of the ball.
Luis Fernando Miranda, the same pitcher who started the Pacific League season without allowing a single earned run in his first 36.1 innings and was eventually elected Pitcher of the Year, struck out seven opponents in 6.0 dominant scoreless innings where he only received two hits, both in the first two innings. From the second to the sixth, Miranda only allowed one baserunner with a walk.
Joey Terdoslavich hit a two-run double that opened the scoring for the Mexican team in the second inning, Roberto Valenzuela hit for a hit for the third consecutive game, a two-run triple that opened the door to a four-run ambush in the third inning. Reynaldo Rodríguez followed with a RBI hit that made it 5-0 before the Venezuelan offense committed an incredible error after striking out Julián Ornelas.
Defeating the Venezuelan team's strategy of playing short in the eighth inning, a hit by catcher José Heberto Félix beat the second baseman to produce the seventh run of the game.
Despite being heavily outscored, the Caracas fans made their presence felt in the eighth inning when the Lions had a runner in scoring position, the first in the match. However, Rafael Córdova ended the hopes in the eighth and Juan Gámez closed the curtain in the ninth.
Great performance by the Pitcher of the Year! Luis Fernando Miranda pitched 6 scoreless innings, only allowed a couple of hits and gave away one walk in exchange for 7 strikeouts! #FuerzaTricolor!
Throughout the Venezuelan baseball season, Caracas had only been shut out once.
With the ticket in hand, Mexico still has a couple of pending appointments, the first of them this Tuesday, February 7th at La Guaira Forum Stadium at 12:30 PM Mexico Center time, 11:30 AM Pacific time.