Mexican Pacific League Notebook

Aguilas de Mexicali
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: Mexicali split six games last week to improve to 15-31.

WHO'S HOT: C Gabriel Gutierrez was 4-for-11 (.364) in four games. ... Demond Smith hit .294 with a homer and three RBIs in five games. He is batting .308 with four RBIs in his last 10 contests. ... P Dana Eveland (Diamondbacks) picked up the win on Nov. 28 against Guasave, allowing three runs on six hits with six strikeouts in seven innings. ... Humberto Montemayor surrendered one run in five frames to beat Culiacan on Nov. 30. ... White Sox farmhand Andy Sisco made his first appearance on Sunday and struck out three over three scoreless innings against Culiacan. ... David Cortes collected three saves in three appearances.

WHO'S NOT: Oswaldo Morejon hit .200 with a run scored in five games. ... Roman Pena went 1-for-6. ... SS Javy Robles batted .154 (2-for-13) and Carlos Sievers batted .071 (1-for-14) with a three-run homer. ... Abraham Elvira allowed four runs on five hits in four innings to suffer a loss to Guasave on Nov. 28. ... Marc Kaiser (Rockies) was charged with four runs in 1 1/3 frames.

NEWS AND NOTES: Brian Stokes, who was acquired by the New York Mets from Tampa Bay for cash considerations, hasn't pitched since Nov. 18 and was 3-3 with a 4.30 ERA in 12 games. ... Mexicali has a 6-18 road record this season. ... San Diego prospect Jared Wells has not pitched since Nov. 9 ... Pete Laforest (Phillies), who began the winter season with Culiacan, is hitting .278 with one homer and two RBIs in his last six games.

Algodoneros de Guasave
WEEK IN REVIEW: Guasave won three of five games to improve to 19-27, good for seventh place.

WHO'S HOT: After going 7-for-40 in his previous 11 games, Noe Munoz batted .400 (6-for-15) with a homer and four RBIs. ... Cristhian Presichi showed no signs of slowing down, hitting at a .368 clip with a homer and five RBIs. ... Spike Lundberg (Dodgers) garnered his first win with a scoreless ninth inning in a 6-5 win over Obregon on Dec. 2.

WHO'S NOT: Former Yankee farmhand Tim Lavigne yielded four runs on three hits and two walks without recording an out in a 6-5 win over Obregon on Dec. 2. ... Reliever Edgar Lizarraga has given up nine runs over his last 9 1/3 frames, including two losses.

NEWS AND NOTES: Guasave batters lead the league with a .284 batting average and a .355 on-base percentage.

Caneros de los Mochis
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: Mochis won five straight games before ending the week with a loss. The Caneros are in third place with a 26-21 record.

WHO'S HOT: Ramon Orantes went 7-for-19 (.368) with an RBI. ... Saul Sota homered twice and drove in six runs. ... C Mario Santana hit .357 with a homer and three RBIs. ... LF Jon Weber (Rays) went 6-for-17 with three runs scored and is batting .371 in his last 10 games. ... Luis Suarez hit .583 (7-for-12) with an RBI in four contests. ... Alberto Castillo-Betancourt allowed three runs and struck out nine in six innings. ... Arturo Lopez fanned five over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, Pablo Ochoa struck out three over 5 1/3 shutout frames, and Michael Tejera fanned four in seven scoreless innings. ... Adrian Manzano picked up two saves in three appearances.

WHO'S NOT: Esteban Hernandez suffered Mochis' only loss on Sunday, giving up one run on two hits and a walk in 2 2/3 innings. .... Pedro Castellano went 3-for-17 (.176), Omar De La Torre hit .214, Hector Garanzuary went 1-for-5 and Carlos Orrantia was 2-for-11.

NEWS AND NOTES: Mochis pitchers were charged with nine earned runs in 40 2/3 innings this week. ... Felix Jose hasn't played since Oct. 19. The 42-year-old outfielder, who was a National League All-Star in 1991, has only two plate appearances. ... The Caneros host Hermosillo in a three-game series after sweeping a three-game set last week during a seven-game winning streak.

Mayos de Navojoa
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: Navojoa went 2-3 and had a game rained out against Mazatlan on Nov. 29. The Mayos are in fourth place with a 25-21 record.

WHO'S HOT: Jose Amador went 6-for-16 with two homers and four RBIs in five games. ... Doug Clark went 5-for-15 (.333) with two RBIs. ... San Diego prospect Oscar Robles is batting .323 in his last 10 games and has hit in four straight. ... Alejandro Armenta allowed one run on six hits over six innings. ... Mario Mendoza yielded one run and fanned nine in six frames. ... Oswaldo Verdugo picked up a win over Mazatlan on Nov. 27, surrendering two runs on five hits in six innings.

WHO'S NOT: Barbaro Canizares (Braves) was 2-for-18 (.111) with a homer. ... 1B Jesse Gutierrez (Reds) went 3-for-13 (.231). ... Brandon Jones (Braves) is in a 1-for-16 drought and hasn't played since Nov. 28.

NEWS AND NOTES: Mike Hampton (Braves), who hasn't pitched in the Majors since 2005, is sidelined due to a pulled hamstring on Nov. 22. ... 1B Scott Thorman (Braves) hasn't played since Nov. 15.

Naranjeros de Hermosillo
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Najaneros went 1-5, which dropped them to sixth with a 22-25 record.

WHO'S HOT: Marshall McDougall (Dodgers) had seven hits, including a homer and three doubles. ... Major League veteran Vinny Castilla batted .381 with two homers, six RBIs and reached base in each of his first six games. ... Jesus Cota went 7-for-16 to raise his batting average up to .368, second-best in the league.

WHO'S NOT: Jose Luis Sandoval ended the week with an 0-for-11 slump. ... Jorge Guzman went 0-for-12 without a walk over five games.

NEWS AND NOTES: Hermosillo was outscored 23-11 in its five losses. ... Naranjeros pitchers are second in the league with 332 strikeouts and have walked a league-low 117.

Tomateros de Culiacan
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Tomateros went 3-3 to improve to a league-leading 29-18.

WHO'S HOT: Jose Silva continues to run away with the league lead in saves, adding three more to total 17. ... Giancarlo Alvarado tossed seven shutout innings, making it the third time he's pitched at least six-plus scoreless frames. ... Alfredo Aceves bounced back from his first loss, allowing one run on two hits with six strikeouts over 5 1/3 frames in a win over Mexicali on Dec. 2.

WHO'S NOT: Casey McGehee (Cubs) went 3-for-20 on the week and doesn't have an extra-base hit since homering on Nov. 22. ... Benji Gil was 2-for-16, dropping his batting average to .215. ... Aaron Acosta, a 39-year-old right-hander, is 0-3 with a 6.39 ERA in his last four starts.

NEWS AND NOTES: Culiacan wins a lot of close games, with 34 of 47 games being decided by three runs or less. ... Tomateros batters have drawn a league-best 173 walks, but also rank eighth with 355 strikeouts, 40 more than second-most Mochis.

OH BROTHER!: Gil has seen his brother, Geronimo, who plays for Hermosillo, eight times this season with six more matchups slotted before the regular season ends. So far, the elder Benji has bested his sibling in three of five games in the season series.

Venados de Mazatlan
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Venados won three of five games and are in fifth place with a 23-22 record.

WHO'S HOT: In four games since coming over from Guasave, Derrick White batted .400 with one RBI. ... Heber Gomez is third in the league with a .331 batting average after three multi-hit games. ... Donzell McDonald has a 16-game on-base streak. He has hit in seven straight and clubbed a pair of two-run homers.

WHO'S NOT: Miguel Ojeda and Francisco Valdez combined to go 4-for-17. ... Brian Myrow (Padres) managed two hits in 19 at-bats, dropping his average to .312. ... Sergio Valenzuela (Atlanta) retired just two batters and was charged with two runs on three hits and a walk Nov. 27.

NEWS AND NOTES: Oscar Bustillos recorded a six-inning complete game at Hermosillo on Dec. 2, the third Mazatlan pitcher to do so this season. The Venados are the only team with multiple complete games.

Yaquis de Obregon
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: Obregon went 2-3 with a pair of rainouts. The Yaquis are in second place with a 26-20 record.

WHO'S HOT: OF Jason Botts (Rangers) hit .429 (9-for-21) with three RBIs and three runs scored in five games. He is batting .368 with seven RBIs in his last 10. ... 3B Agustin Murillo hit .357 with two RBIs. ... Kit Pellow homered twice and drove in four runs in five games. ... Jesus Rodriguez nabbed a victory over Guasave on Sunday, surrendering one run on two hits over 5 1/3 frames. ... Justin Lehr (Mariners) gave up one run on four hits with six strikeouts in seven innings in a win over Culiacan on Nov. 29. ... Andres Meza yielded two runs in 5 1/3 innings. ... Isauro Pineda was charged with one earned run in 5 1/3 frames.

WHO'S NOT: Juan Alvarez suffered two losses this week, allowing six runs on eight hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings. ... C Iker Franco went 0-for-11 in four games. ... RF Jorge Padilla went 4-for-19 (.211). SS Alfredo Amezaga (Marlins) went 3-for-21 with a walk and two steals in his first five games.

NEWS AND NOTES: Joakim Soria, who went 2-3 with a 2.48 ERA and 17 saves for the Royals, made his first appearance on Sunday against Guasave, allowing three runs and recording one out.