May 1945 in the Mexican Ballgame
Tampico and Puebla have slipped, leaving Jaguares as the sole leader come June 1st. The capital city club went 17-7, winning all of their series (including at home against both Tampico and Puebla), except for a loss in San Luis. SS José Serrano was fantastic this month, earning hitter of the month after a .317/.385/.462 month with 11 doubles, 2 triples and 16 runs driven in. Last month's hitter of the month remained hot, hitting .295/.356/.352, driving in 15 runs. Both Serrano and Middleton are providing excellent defense to go with their amazing bat. On the pitching side, lefty Pablo Hinojosa was the best pitcher for the Jaguars, wining 2 and losing 1 (a 2-1 loss in extra innings). The former Guadalajara pitcher had a 2.04 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP this month, striking out 16 batters and walking only 6.
Mérida have positioned themselves in 2nd place after a 16-10 May, including a sweep of Puebla. The 1944 MVP showed up for the Howlers this month, hitting .290/.355/.520 with 6 doubles, a triple, 5 homers and 24 runs produced. Other stars such as 3B Carlos Renderos and LF Héctor Ramírez are having slow starts, but a hot streak from them could turn Mérida into closer contenders. Their rotation was great, pitching to a 1.91 combined ERA. If Francisco Barajas (1.33 ERA, 1.16 WHIP), Carlos Delgado (2.93 ERA, 1.30 WHIP), Juan González (1.10 ERA, 1.02 WHIP), Juan Cárdenas (2.43 ERA, 1.18 WHIP) and Gerardo Mata (1.93 ERA, 0.81 WHIP) continue their hot streak, the Howlers could continue trending upwards.
Hitting Leaders (Season)
3B Jesús Herrera - San Luis -
.339/
.415/.427, 9 2B, 1 3B, 10 RBI
RF Edwin Esparza - Mérida - .314/.377/.
.505, 10 2B, 1 3B, 8 HR,
37 RBI, 7 SB
2B César Loaiza - Monterrey - .266/.337/.394,
16 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 1 SB
SS José Serrano - Jaguares - .299/.374/.417,
16 2B, 3 3B, 22 RBI
CF Alberto Campana - Puebla - .284/.307/.461, 15 2B,
6 3B, 3 HR, 24 RBI, 7 SB
3B Pedro Ayala - Puebla - .295/.350/.505, 10 2B,
10 HR, 33 RBI
CF José Contreras - Mérida - .262/.278/.338, 14 2B, 1 3B, 14 RBI,
15 SB
Pitching Leaders (Season)
LH Leo López - Águilas -
7-1, 75.1 IP, 1.79 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 28 K, 22 BB
RH John Nestle - Tampico -
7-1, 83 IP,
1.41 ERA,
0.93 WHIP, 31 K, 15 BB
RH Victor Villarroel - Puebla -
7-2, 54 IP, 3.67 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 26 K, 23 BB
RH Juan González - Mérida - 5-4,
83.2 IP, 2.04 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 34 K, 31 BB
LH Rich Faircloth - Tampico - 1-7, 78.2 IP, 2.29 ERA, 1.12 WHIP,
40 K, 18 BB
LH Filiberto Soto - Puebla - 3-2, 70.2 IP, 2.04 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 40 K, 23 BB
RH Félix Alemán - San Luis - 5-3, 69.2 IP, 1.94 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 36 K,
12 BB
Hitter of the Month
Another Jaguares hitter earns the monthly award! As mentioned, Serrano was the hottest hitter this month, improving from good in April to the best in May. Serrano and Middleton have emerged as WAR leaders so far, facing tough competition to the Tlatoani Award come the end of the year.
Pitcher of the Month
San Luis pitcher Félix Alemán is pitching his best season to date, helped by a fantastic May where he pitched to a 0.96 ERA and 0.80 WHIP, leading all pitchers in these categories. Alemán struck out 22 of the batters he faced, walking just 3! This means Alemán had more wins (4) than walks this month through 5 starts. San Luis now has the 2nd best rotation in the league and a hot streak from their hitters could push them up the table.
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Will Jaguares get a tighter hold on the first place spot? Will Mérida, Tampico or San Luis be able to really compete with them? We'll find out as just over 2 months remain!