In 2003, after almost 28 years of a professional club not playing a playoff game the club finished 4th in its division with a record of 62–48. The club faced their usual open in Diablos Rojos del México without 2 of their star players, Pablo Ortega and Lorenzo Buelna, who were playing in the 2003 Pan American Games with Mexico. The clubs each won 3 games sending the series to a game 7 in which Puebla came 3 outs from winning, before Pedro Cervantes allowed 3 runs in the last inning to lose the game 8–7, as well as the series 4–3.