Fueled by a explosive seven-run rally in the fifth inning and a solo home run by Ezequiel Rivera, the Tomateros de Culiacán mounted a comeback to defeat the Venados de Mazatlán 8-4, capturing their first victory in "The 2026 Baja Series."
The culichi squad found itself trailing 2-0 early on; however, in the top of the fifth, the guinda offense flexed its power to turn the game around. Édgar Robles sparked the rally by drawing a walk, stealing second base, and advancing to third on a wild pitch. Immediately after, Jesús "Pollito" Higuera lined a sharp RBI double to break the shutout and put Tomateros on the board.
A bout of wildness from the Mazatlán pitching staff issued back-to-back walks to Sebastián García and Ramiro Peña to load the bases. Fabricio Macías then stepped up with a two-run extra-base hit to seize a 3-2 lead. The rally kept rolling as Carlos Urías delivered a two-run single to drive home Germán Revilla (who entered as a pinch-runner for Peña) and Macías. Following additional walks to Christian Lucero and Robles, "Pollito" Higuera delivered his second hit of the inning—an RBI single to right field driving in two more runs to cap off the 7-run explosion.
Although the porteños attempted a comeback with a two-run rally in the seventh, Culiacán answered immediately. In the bottom half of the inning, prospect Ezequiel Rivera launched a solo home run over the right-field wall to seal the guinda victory.
On the mound, right-hander Víctor Castañeda earned the start for Lorenzo Bundy's squad. Behind him, Santiago Rojo, Pedro Reyes, Baltazar Arredondo, Rafael Castañeda, and Martín Urías provided solid relief coverage out of the bullpen.
The Tomateros de Culiacán will continue their exhibition slate in Baja California Sur this Saturday, squaring off against the Algodoneros de Guasave at 4:00 P.M. (local time).