Panama beats Mexico with a 9th inning rally, a breakdown
What Happened
In the bottom of the 9th inning of the Caribbean Series matchup between Panama and Mexico, Panama trails 3-1 and is looking to mount a late comeback. Mexico brings in relief pitcher Luis Marquez to close out the game, but the umpires inform the Mexican coaching staff that Marquez is not on the official lineup card and is therefore ineligible to pitch. The Mexicans are forced to turn to Jake Sanchez instead. Sanchez opens with a pair of off-speed pitches, a two-seam fastball and a slider/cutter, to retire the first batter. However, he then hits the next Panama hitter with a pitch, putting the tying run on base. The next Panama batter hits a grounder that ricochets off the base, allowing the runner to advance to third base. Sanchez remains composed, striking out the following hitter, but Panama's Johan Camargo steps up with two runners on and one out. Camargo fouls off several pitches, including a hard-breaking slider, before poking a single up the middle to drive in the tying run. The Panama crowd erupts in celebration, waving their flags enthusiastically. With the game now knotted at 3-3, Sanchez tries to refocus, going back to his two-seam fastball. However, the next Panama batter laces a double into the gap, scoring the go-ahead run. Mexico is unable to mount a comeback in the top of the 10th, and Panama completes the thrilling 4-3 victory. The Panamanian players and coaches are overjoyed, celebrating with fist pumps and a team hug. The Mexican coaching staff, on the other hand, appears disappointed by the late collapse. This hard-fought matchup between the regional rivals showcases the excitement and drama of Caribbean Series baseball.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentMexico is up 3-1 over Panama in the Caribbean Series.
We're going to the bottom of the 9th.
This breakdown is brought to you by DraftKings.
Now they want to bring this dude in, Luis Marquez.
He's their closer, I guess.
They want him to pitch, 5'9", 262.
Only problem, the umpires say,
we don't see any Luis Marquez on our sheet.
Yeah, you can't pitch.
Sorry, they forgot to put you on the lineup.
So they got to go to the bullpen.
They bring in Jake Sanchez.
Is he ready to close?
Is he ready for the moment?
First pitch, a little two-seamer, arm-side run.
Nice.
And then a little baby cutter or slider.
I don't know the miles per hour,
but these are clearly two pitches that cross
and work off of each other, and I like it.
Didn't get the call on the slider.
Tries it again, or cutter.
I'm not sure what he's calling that pitch.
He says, nope, nope, nope.
Fan says, where, what, what?
Come on!
Next pitch, he goes, is that a strike?
Little cutter again.
And then.
He starts yanking them both ways.
Hits the batter.
That's not good, but it's all right.
That run doesn't even matter.
It's just, it's not even a tying run.
He's getting loose, though.
Oh, he's getting real loose.
He's getting spry.
And ball in play.
Hits the base.
Base ball.
And that runner, first to third.
Limber, loose, relaxed muscles.
Oh, bam!
Big old fist pump into a shake.
Watch this, watch this.
Watch this.
Fist pump, double fist shake.
Yes!
Vamos!
Yes!
More vamos!
Vamos, Panama!
Oh, and he's getting limber in a different way.
Oh!
Sexy and exciting.
Now, against this batter, he's gonna open up
with the two seam low.
Doesn't get the call.
Goes the little baby cutter slider thing.
Gets the swing and a miss.
Stays low, fouled back.
Panama, Panama, Panama.
They're cheering for Panama.
Two seam in.
He's been low the whole count.
Goes high there.
Fouls it back.
One, two.
Dot!
Gets him!
Panama coach does not like it.
Not excited.
I just think it was cool how consistently low he was.
Besides that one pitch, working both ways.
Coming towards the batter, going away from the batter.
But there's one out now.
Next batter comes up, Johan Camargo.
Smolder City.
He's got two on.
Wants to drive him home.
First pitch is gonna be the two seamer.
Does it get played?
No.
Camargo says no.
This one, nah.
And he dances on that one.
Nuh-uh.
Two and oh.
Big swing.
Fouls it back.
Mexico.
Mexico.
Cheering for a different team than the fans I showed earlier.
Strike on the outside.
Camargo says, yeah, that's okay.
And then that one didn't have much movement either way.
Gets the out.
Does score a run.
And puts the tying run on third base.
And they touch each other.
But now one out to go.
And they win.
Goes off the plate away.
Goes another.
Another little slider-cutter thing.
One and one.
Stays with that one.
That one looks a little different shape.
Gets the swing and miss on it.
A strike away from winning for Mexico.
Can they?
Will they?
He says, no, I don't want to throw that.
I've thrown all sliders.
I want to throw another one.
Bad decision, Jake Sanchez.
He pokes that one up the middle.
And Panama has tied the game.
They're excited in the crowd.
They're going crazy.
Waving the flag.
What a ninth inning.
Now the next batter, he says,
okay, I threw too many cutters.
I'm going to throw all two seams.
Two seam.
Oh, and one.
Two seam, oh, and two.
Two seam, high.
And the one, two.
Two seam, low.
Two and two.
Another one.
Or maybe that was a little slider that he fouls back.
Out of play.
2-2 pitch.
In the zone.
And driven deep to left field.
Splits the gap.
They're on their horses.
They're all stretched out.
Bobbles the ball.
And Panama comes back and wins it versus Mexico.
Jake Sanchez comes in.
I actually really enjoyed watching him pitch.
Maybe he wasn't fully warm, you know?
He wasn't supposed to go in.
But what a game.
What a match.
Ooh, cold.
Got the chain.
Got the hat.
Wow.
A little bit of everything for Panama.
They got it all going on.
Thank you very much for watching.
This breakdown was brought to you by DraftKings.
I thank them and I thank you.
And I thank myself for having such a good time making this.
Baseball, baby.
Baseball, baby.
Whew.