Jake Sánchez: King of Rescue – Forward Valley

MEXICALI — Jake Sánchez pitched the last three innings of the last game of the season this Tuesday, when Los Águilas de Mexicali defeated Charros de Jalisco by a score of 8 runs to 1, and with this he reached 135 saves in his Mexican Pacific League career to set a new record.

The star closer of Los Emplumados jumped onto the mound of El Nido de Los Águilas with the mission of becoming number one in Juegos Salvados, leaving behind the great legend Isidro Márquez, who maintained that mark of 134 for almost 2 decades.

Sánchez, a native of Brawley, on August 19, 1989, where he showed interest in baseball since he was little, quickly standing out in the community’s amateur leagues; to finally make his debut with Los Águilas de Mexicali on October 10, 2015 facing Naranjeros de Hermosillo in a game that they won 5 runs to 3.

On October 22 of that year he saved his first game in a match where Los Emplumados beat Tomateros de Culiacán 5 runs to 2; In that game he faced Luis Borges, Carlos Álvarez and Jaime Pedroza, retiring all three in perfect order.

In the 2015-2016 season, Sánchez relieved in 37 games with the possibility of saves on five occasions, achieving four, being the beginning of a great career that continued upward until setting the new record for games saved in the history of the LMP.

After his debut year, Sánchez saved 21 games the following season (2016-2017) to be the absolute leader in the entire circuit; in the 2017-2018 season he did not pitch; However, he made a solid comeback the following season with 16 saves. The number of games saved continued to rise, since in the 2020-2021 campaign he added 5 saves to continue building this great achievement.

Sánchez entered the LMP record book by becoming the closer with the most games saved in a season by finishing the season with 26 in the 2021-2022 season, leaving behind the mark of 23 saves set by Andrés Ávila of Los Mochis in 2015-2016 and Mark Zappeli in 1990-1991. He saved 73 games in El Nido de los Aguilas and 62 saves came as a visitor.

For the following seasons he added 14 saves in the 2022-2023 edition, 17 in the 2023-2024 campaign and 18 in the 2024-2025 season.

The team with which he has had the most success is against Naranjeros de Hermosillo with 25 games saved, followed by Charros de Jalisco with 20, Mayos de Navojoa 17, Yaquis de Cd. Obregón with 15, Venados de Mazatlán 14, Tomateros de Culiacán 14, Sultanes de Monterrey 12, Cañeros de Los Mochis 9, Algodoneros de Guasave 6, Jaguares de Nayarit with 2 and Tucson Baseball Team 1.

An unforgettable moment for LMP baseball, Los Águilas de Mexicali and for Jake Sánchez himself; It is when he took over in game 7 against Naranjeros de Hermosillo in January 2017, where he pitched 7 innings to keep the game tied that ended with victory for the Emplumado team and led them to the championship of the 2016-2017 season.

Sánchez also took the mound with the Mexico jersey in the Caribbean Series in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024 in which he saved 6 games, as well as in the 2017 and 2023 World Classics.

The game

The Águilas de Mexicali defeated Charros de Jalisco by a score of 8 runs to 1 on Tuesday, in a historic night that marked the end of the 2025-2026 regular season of the Mexican Pacific League, which culminated with Jake Sánchez’s 135th save in his career.

The first score of the game came in the second inning and went to Charros de Jalisco, through Bligh Madris, who hit a double against the wall and with a single by Japhet Amador he reached the plate.

The Eagles returned in the third episode complement. Alex Flores worked a long shift achieving the passport; Estevan Florial and Norberto Obeso suffered the same fate to fill the bases. Yadir Drake produced the first with a ground ball for first, while Estevan Florial scored the second in sin; Moisés Gutiérrez with a single to the center field produced one more to leave the score 3 runs 1.

A 4-run rally in the fourth inning gave Los Emplumados a significant lead. Alex Flores started the party with a hit to the right field, Estevan Florial won the walk, Yadir Drake with a single produced one and Alex Mejía with a double to the bottom of the left sent 2 to the plate, adding one more with a hit by Wynton Bernard, placing the score 7 runs to 1.

For the fifth inning, the Emplumados took advantage of an RBI triple by Yadir Drake, sending Estevan Florial home to leave the final score at 8 runs to 1.

The magical moment of the game was the appearance of Jake Sánchez to pitch the last three innings of the game in search of the save, in which he retired nine batters and made 26 pitches that gave him the 14th save of the season and in turn the 135th game saved in his career in the Mexican Pacific League.

Postseason

With this result, the Águilas de Mexicali prepare to start the postseason against Yaquis de Cd. Obregón on January 1 and 2 at the Yaquis Stadium, with a return to El Nido de Los Águilas on Sunday the 4th, Monday the 5th and Tuesday the 6th (if necessary).

Emplumados and those of the tribe will measure strength after playing a couple of series in the regular season, where the balance was favorable for Yaquis, 4 games to 2. The Águilas de Mexicali showed their power by hitting 6 home runs in exchange for 1 and batted for an average of .301, while Yaquis achieved a .219 in the duels between teams, with Norberto Obeso being the best in batting with .462.

In pitching, the earned run average (ERA) also favored Los Emplumados with 3.12 and 3.40 for Obregón, where the Cachanilla relief pitchers got the best.

For the first stage of the playoffs, the LMP implemented the Replacement Draft. The Emplumados chose sixth, taking catcher Alexis Wilson as their new elements, who hit .308 against Yaquis with three hits and two doubles in four games; Pitcher Mark Simon was the second option, who will face Obregón’s team for the first time. Both players were taken from the Tucson Baseball Team.

In addition, Club Águilas de Mexicali announced the incorporation of Alfonso “Houston” Jiménez to the coaching staff, for the postseason games of the 2025-2026 LMP campaign.