MIAMI, United States. — The confrontation between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros, corresponding to the American League championship final, has several players from the Greater Antilles face to face.
For the current World Series runners-up, Yordan Álvarez, Yuli Gurriel and Aledmis Díaz stand out, three players consolidated for several years on the Astros roster, while for the Bronx Bombers the pitcher will see action Nestor Cortes Jr.praiseworthy performance so far this season.
The Cubans of both squads were among the most prominent in the conference series, in which Houston and New York dispatched the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Guardians, respectively.
For the Astros, Yordan Álvarez and Yuli Gurriel produced in abundance. The first, hitting decisive home runs in the first two games; second, hitting six hits in the series, including a home run.
In Álvarez’s case, he became the first player born on the Island to drive in five runs in a postseason game and seven runs in a span of two games. He was also placed fourth in history among Cubans with the most RBIs in the postseason, a list that he heads, no more and no less, than Yuli Gurriel.
Left-hander Néstor Cortés wasn’t far behind either, putting in a great performance against the Cleveland Guardians. The Batabanó native had two solid starts, the last of them to beat his rivals in the decisive fifth game.
In total, “Nasty” Néstor allowed just three runs in 10 innings and became the third Cuban-born starting pitcher to win an elimination game in the postseason, according to the journalist and writer specializing in baseball. Francis Romero.
The first two matches of the championship final between the Astros and the Yankees, both ending with victories for the Houstonians, featured Yuli Gurriel’s offensive highlight, who hit a home run in the first game and two other hits in the second.
Now, the man from Sancti Spiritus continues to lead the list of Cubans with the most hits in elimination series and reached 21 games hitting two or more hits in definition phases.
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