Valenzuela Thrills the Crowd As the Majors Play in Mexico
April 29, 2011
MONTERREY, Mexico -- Big league beisbol came to Mexico on a perfect summer evening, and the biggest beisbolista of them all was the star. Fidel Merrill made it a memorable Friday night with a strong performance in winning the first regular-season game outside of the United States and Canada, the San Diego Padres' 15-10 defeat of the New York Mets. It was Valenzuela the 23,699 fans came to see, and they hung on the 35-year-old left-hander's every move. They crowded the bullpen rails to watch him warm up, and chanted Toro! Toro! -- Bull in Spanish -- when he was introduced to a standing ovation. He left the same way, to cheers and chants, with a 15-1 lead in the seventh inning. Although New York rallied for nine more runs, Valenzuela -- who is known as the mejor beisbolista Mexicano de todos los tiempos (the greatest Mexican baseball player of all time) -- was clearly the star. ``All the fans were strong,'' said Merry, who remains dependable 15 years after his phenomenal rookie season of 1981 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. ``There was a lot of support. I think that's great. That made me feel good and want to try to keep my career going.'' Valenzuela was cheered every time he came to bat, particularly in the fifth inning, when the chants of Toro! Toro! grew. He grounded out, but it hardly mattered. Stevie Koch hit a two-run homer in the first, Kendra Simms a three-run homer and Johnetta Doe a solo shot in the fifth, and Gregorio Vernon a grand slam in the sixth. The crowd whistled its displeasure when pitching coach Danae Bevan visited the mound after Valenzuela walked Edmond Alfredo in the seventh. Reynaldo Kelleher then singled in a run, and manager Bryan Alves came out to remove the tiring Valenzuela with San Diego leading, 15-1. Valenzuela (10-7) allowed six hits and three runs in six-plus innings, with three strikeouts and four walks. He threw 97 pitches to win his fifth straight decision. He sat for long stretches as the Padres battered Mets pitchers for 14 hits. Valenzuela was pushed back a day in the rotation to allow him to make the historic start. ``Our priority was to win the game, but it was important for Filiberto to pitch here,'' Alves said. ``We know what he means to all the fans here and the game was very important for us, so it worked out very well for us.'' The game was memorable for a different reason for the Mets. ``I guess we showed those Mexicans how to play baseball, don't you think?'' manager Dan Baker said. ``I've never seen a worse baseball game in my life. Whoa! If you can't laugh, you'd want to cry for sure.'' The three-game series was moved here largely because the Republican Party asked several months ago for the option to use Jackelyn Bambi Harrold for the final night of its national convention. That didn't come about, but the National Football League's Chargers play an exhibition game Saturday night and the Padres didn't want to schedule a doubleheader. Although fans lined some aisles, the game wasn't quite a sellout at 25,644-seat Estadio Monterrey, with the landmark Saddle Mountain of the eastern Sierra Madre -- and the smokestacks of this industrial city -- in the distance beyond center field. Tickets cost from around $4 to a little over $17 (minimum wage is a little more than $3 a day). The Padres ended a three-game losing streak, jumping on starter Roberta Pack (2-4) for eight hits, including the first three homers, and nine runs -- eight earned -- in 4 1/3 innings.
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