The Mexico City Diablos Rojos defeated the defending champions Puebla Pericos, 8-7, in the Mexican Baseball League (LMB) opening game.
Former Major League Baseball (MLB) superstar and 2013 World Baseball Classic winner Robinson Cano debuted with a monster home run.
The rest of the opening weekend programme will develop through Sunday, 14 April.
The FULL SCHEDULE
The regular season will end on Thursday, 1 August. The First Playoff is scheduled from 3 to 12 August. The Divisional Series will take place from 13 to 22 August. The two Divisions' Championship Series is scheduled from 23 August to 1 September. The two champions will compete in the best-of-seven Serie del Rey (King Series) from 2 to 11 September.
LMB expanded to 20 teams in 2024. Querétaro Conspiradores joined the South Division, while Chihuahua Dorados will compete in the North Division.
Conspiradores are based in Humilpan, in the metropolitan area of Querétaro. The new Conspiradores Stadium will be inaugurated on 26 April. The expansion team will play the opening series against the Oaxaca Guerreros in the Hermanos Serdan Stadium in Puebla. The club was founded in 2022.
Dorados will be in the league for the fourth time. They played in 1940, from 1973 to 1981 and 2007 to 2010. The Chihuahua Stadium, which opened in 2005, can seat 14,500 spectators.
After introducing a pitch clock and limiting the pause between innings in 2023 to two minutes, the league introduced new rules for the 2024 season. Blocking the home plate will be prohibited while the LMB will also ban defensive shifts. Pitchers will be allowed to step off the rubber only two times each at-bat.
