Viva Los Toros: Tijuana Toros Weekly Recap #4
The Tijuana Toros weekly recap
The Toros started the week by receiving news of the four members of the team that will represent them in the All Star Game as players made history.
Starting pitchers Barry Enright, Héctor Ambríz, closer Jason Urquídez and catcher Juan Apodaca have all been named to the mid-season classic in Monterrey, Nuevo León this upcoming weekend to play for the North Zone. When the announcement was made Enright had a 5-2 record with a 2.31 ERA, he also has 31 strikeouts verses only 12 walks.
Ambriz is in his rookie season in Mexican League and he leads the league in ERA with 1.23. He has a 3-2 record with 46 punch outs and 15 base on balls. Closer Jason Urquídez is one of the leaders in the North in the save statistic with 11. He also has a 1.53 ERA and a 2-0 record. Apodaca has one of the best batting averages in the league with a .353 with seven home runs and 31 runs batted in.
Vs Saraperos
Game 1: Another loss at home
The Tijuana Toros fell short of another comeback as they lost a third game at home in their last four, in the opener of a three game series against the Saltillo Saraperos. A three run rally helped the visitors as they held on to win 4 to 3 at Estadio Gasmart. Horacio Ramírez got his second loss of the year in a five inning effort, allowing three runs on eight hits. He struck out six and walked one. The only positive was Óscar Robles’ hit, as he came nine closer to the 1,500 mark in his Mexican League career.
Game 2: Díaz gets to 102 wins
The legendary Rafael Díaz continues his greatness. He led the Toros to a 7-3 win as he earned his 102 victory of his Mexican League career. Díaz threw six scoreless innings. Saltillo only got three hits of the Toros pitcher and he had back up as Mike Jacobs had a four-hit, three-RBI day to tie the series. Rafael also got to 1,014 strikeouts and avoided a fourth straight loss for the team.
Game 3: Toros take series after making more history
Juan Apodaca and Mike Jacobs hit a pair of lasers to help Tijuana beat the Saraperos and win the rubber game of the series, 12 to 1. However the headlines were taken away by Barry Enright on a historical night on the mound. The Toros pitcher earned his sixth victory of the year but more importantly, he is now the winningest pitcher in the team’s history. Enright has thirteen wins in his career with the “Bulls”, one more than José Contreras and Walter Silva.
At Monterrey
Game 1: Tijuana sends a message to Sultanes
The Toros visited the best team in the North Zone and weren’t shy to show their strengths. José Guadalupe Chávez blasted his first homer of the year and Dustin Martin helped out by hitting his ninth of the season as Tijuana won 7 to 2 in the home of the Sultanes. Miguel Peña had a seven inning outing, he allowed only one run in five hits and he struck out two batters to get his first win of the season. The 2016 All Star Game will be played this upcoming weekend in Monterrey Stadium.
Game 2: Óscar Robles’ 1,500 hit helps to clinch series
A game filled with emotions was highlighted by Óscar Robles making history and another Toros win. Tijuana beat Monterrey 11 to 9 thanks to a four run ninth inning rally to go ahead in a game that lasted nearly four hours. Mike Jacobs, Juan Apodaca, José Chávez and Olmo Rosario produced a pair of runs each. Óscar Robles reached the 1,500 hit mark in Mexican League late in the game to bring his total to 2,515 in professional Mexican baseball between the league played in the summer and winter ball; the former big leaguer has hit safely 1,015 times in Liga Mexicana del Pacífico.
Game 3: Sultanes avoid sweep
A three-run third inning rally was the only thing going on offensively in the game as Monterrey shutout Tijuana on getaway day. With Sultanes up by one, Alex Valdéz hit a two run home run off Horacio Ramírez to put up what would be the final score, 3 to 0. Ramirez was in the game for five innings allowing three runs, eight hits while striking out two. Marco Tovar got his second win of the season for the home team and Wirfin Obispo saved his twelfth game of the year. The Toros will open up a series in Reynosa on Monday before the All Star break.
A reporter for EVT in the region, also for Síntesis TV in Baja California and a correspondent for ESPN México. A sports freak, crazy about the teams in San Diego and Tijuana. My goal is to provide information for the people by always being a fan. Understanding the point of view of the players and organizations and with that to tell the truth with an objective approach.