Béisbol en Salt Lake: Two Mexican baseball teams to face off over the weekend in Utah

SOUTH JORDAN — Two Mexican baseball teams are to face off in exhibition games this weekend in South Jordan as part of Miller Sports and Entertainment outreach efforts to the Latino community.

Los Venados of Mazatlán and Los Charros of Jalisco will play exhibition games on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and again on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. as part of the second annual installment of the sports firm’s Béisbol en Salt Lake initiative, launched last year. The aim is to mark Hispanic Heritage Month, which ends Oct. 15, reach out to the region’s Latino community and “to just watch some great baseball,” said Jenny Teemsma, spokeswoman for Miller Sports and Entertainment.

The games are to be played at The Ballpark at America First Square in South Jordan, the new home of the Salt Lake Bees. Organizers are closely watching the weather forecast for the weekend, given the likelihood of showers and thunderstorms, particularly on Saturday. They’ll decide on Saturday morning whether to change the game plans, spreading word of any updates via email and social media.

The two teams were expected to arrive in Utah on Thursday night, Teemsma said, and organizers have many activities planned in conjunction with the games. The Mazatlán and Jalisco teams compete in the Mexican Pacific League, a professional winter baseball league in northwestern Mexico. They were the same squads that came to Utah last year for the first Béisbol en Salt Lake installment.

As it currently stands, a free youth baseball clinic will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday at the baseball stadium, and a drone show will follow the game that day. Sunday’s game is to be followed by a mariachi concert. The game play-by-play will be in Spanish, Teemsma said, and music, dancing and a low-rider car show will accompany the activities.

Ticket prices start at $15.