Diablos Rojos beat Puebla 15-10 in Game 4 of the Southern Zone semifinal, forcing Game 5. The game was played at Estadio Hermanos Serdán, where Puebla’s fans had started with an early advantage.
Early dominance by Puebla
In the first inning, Christian Adames hit a solo home run off Justin Courtney, putting Puebla up 1-0. The next at-bat, José Rondón delivered a second home run of the series, doubling the lead and leaving the Diablos Rojos trailing 2-0.
Explosive response from Diablos Rojos
The Diablos Rojos’ offense ignited in the second inning. Francisco Mejía, Franklin Barreto, and Carlos Sepúlveda each hit a single, adding three runs and turning the score to 3-2 in favor of the Pingos. The decisive blow came when Jon Singleton, with bases loaded, hit a high fly that put Diablos Rojos ahead 7-2. In the third inning, the LMB’s two-time champions added another burst of power, pushing the score to 12-2.
Loss of control and closing by the Pingos
Despite the lead, the Pericos did not give up. In the sixth inning, Herlis Rodríguez hit a sacrifice fly, and in the seventh, Luis Castro drove José Rondón to the plate. Sergio Alcántara followed with a productive double, trimming the deficit to five runs. However, the finish came when Tomohiro Anraku, under Lorenzo Bundy’s direction, retired the last four batters without allowing more runs, sealing the 15-10 victory.
Next matchup
Game 5 between Diablos Rojos del México and Pericos de Puebla will take place on Monday 24 August at 19:00 h at Estadio Hermanos Serdán. The scheduled starter for Puebla is Ricardo Pinto, although Trevor Bauer could take the mound in a do-or-die game for his ninth.
The result leaves Diablos Rojos with the chance to bring the series back and continue their quest for the LMB’s triple-championship.
