Five games into the South Zone Championship Series between the Olmecas de Tabasco and the Pericos de Puebla, and the benches have already emptied three times. The latest flashpoint: lefty Clayton Andrews — a former Brewer and Yankee — hitting outfielder Herlis Rodríguez with a pitch, setting off another round of pushing, shouting, and umpires playing traffic cop. Tabasco leads the series 3-1 and is one win away from their first Serie del Rey since 1993.
The Clip That Summed Up the Whole Series
The video spread in the early hours of September 5, posted by @LMB_memes. It shows Andrews delivering a pitch that catches Rodríguez flush, and within seconds both dugouts are on the field. It’s the kind of scene that looks chaotic on the surface but makes complete sense when you understand what’s at stake for both clubs.
Three Bench-Clearings and Counting
The tension between these two teams didn’t start with Andrews and Rodríguez. Here’s how it’s been building:
- Game 2 (Aug. 30): Austin Warner hit Cristhian Adames in the first inning — benches cleared for the first time. Later that same night, a second incident in the seventh led to three ejections: Pericos third-base coach Luis Maza, and Olmecas pitcher Keone Kela and coach Alberto Carreón, all sent off by home plate umpire David Solís.
- Games 3 and 4: Tight but relatively clean. Olmecas won Game 3 6-5 in a nail-biter; Game 4 went Tabasco’s way 2-1, with Jeremy Rhoades working more than seven innings and Francis Peguero closing it out.
- Game 5: Andrews hits Rodríguez. Benches empty. Again.
Three bench-clearings in five games isn’t a coincidence — it’s a pattern. When two teams know each other well, the series is tight, and a historic title is on the line, the conditions for things to boil over are already in place.
Why Neither Team Can Afford to Let Up
The Olmecas haven’t been to a South Zone Championship Series since 1993 — the year of their only title. Thirty-three years later, they’re one win away from going back to the Serie del Rey. Every pitch, every play, every hit batter carries extra weight when that kind of drought is on the line.
On the other side, Puebla got here by knocking out the back-to-back champion Diablos Rojos del México, and Rodríguez was a key reason why. His two-out RBI triple in the third inning of Game 6 drove in the only run of a 3-0 shutout win. A team that just beat the defending champions isn’t going to fold with its back against the wall.
What’s Next
Estadio Hermanos Serdán in Puebla hosts Game 5, with the Pericos needing a win to stay alive. If Tabasco closes it out, a 33-year drought ends. If Puebla ties the series, it goes back to Tabasco with everything still to play for. Either way, the atmosphere in the ballpark is going to be electric long before the first pitch — and probably tense long after it, too.
