Two Mexicans were instrumental in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ win of their first World Series Major League Baseball title in 32 years on Tuesday.
Both Víctor González, a Nayarit native, and Julio Urías, originally from Sinaloa, pitched in the Dodgers’ 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in game 6 of the series in Arlington, Texas.
The victory was the fourth of the best of seven series for the Dodgers, securing the team its seventh World Series title and its first since 1988.
González, 24, took to the mound in the fifth inning and secured the final out. He also struck out the Rays in the sixth inning without conceding a run.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called on Urías, also 24, in the seventh inning and he got the final out. Urías also pitched in the eighth and ninth innings, keeping Tampa Bay scoreless in both and thus ensuring victory for the Dodgers.
The Culiacán native has played for the Dodgers since 2016 but González, born in Tuxpan, Nayarit, made his Major League debut for the team this year. Video footage shows residents of Tuxpan celebrating last night’s victory in the streets.
In a post-game interview, Urías described the three outs he threw in the final inning as the most important of his life.
Draped in the Mexican flag, the pitcher told a television commentator that he was proud of his homeland and happy to receive support from Mexicans in the United States and at home.
Asked how he felt to share the victory with his fellow Mexican, Urías responded: “I’m extremely happy, he [González] is my brother … and will be for my whole life. He’s a person who is very important for me and I’m a person who is very important for him. So we’re happy and enjoying this dream together.”
Urías and González now join a select group of just 12 Mexican-born baseball players who have won a World Series title.
The most recent winners prior to the Dodgers pair were Jaime García and Fernando Salas, both of whom were pitchers on the St. Louis Cardinals team that took the title in 2011.
Mexico News Daily
