Cuban Ariel Martínez shone this Tuesday during his first appearance of the current season of the professional baseball in japan by connecting two singles in three opportunities to underpin the 7-6 victory of the Chunichi Dragons over the Yakult Swallows, according to official media reports on the Island.
At the Meiji Jingu Stadium, in Tokyo, and through the central zone, the man from Matanzas took the field as Chunichi’s starting left fielder, and also signed a trailer and scored a run to leave his initial offensive average at .667, according to a office of the Cuban News Agency (ACN).
His compatriot and teammate, Pinar del Rio closer Raidel Martinez, scored his third save of the incipient tournament by striking out two of the three batters he faced in a relief inning. In this way, his effectiveness dropped to 1.80 earned runs per game, the media reports.
Likewise, reliever from Camagüey Yariel Rodríguez struck out a rival in a perfect episode of work to keep his ERA at 0.00. While his compatriot, first baseman Dayán Viciedo from Villa Clara, went 2-5, with two singles and one scored to raise his average to .250, ACN specifies.
In another match of the day, the Lotte Marinos defeated the Nippon Ham Fighters 2-0 at the Sapporo Dome. Santiago shortstop Adeiny Hechavarría hit two singles in four at-bats, scored a run and drove in a teammate to raise his average to .333, adds the source.
Also in the ranks of the winners, outfielder from Villa Clara Leonys Martín scored a hit in four visits to the batting box, struck out on one occasion and his offensive average is now a discreet .129, the news agency underlines.
Baseball: Cubans stand out in the opening of the Japanese professional league
Yumurino Yurisbel Gracial had action on the day, author of a hit twice, in addition to receiving a couple of walks in the victory of his team, the SoftBank Falcons, over the Orix Buffaloes with a score of 6-3, in mourning held at the Pay Pay Dome, Fukuoka.
After this performance, Gracial exhibits a better average, as it rose to .250, says the ACN.
So far, the Halcones are the only ones that have not yielded in their first eight appearances and lead the Pacific League in the tournament with an advantage of 2.5 games over the Rakuten Eagles, and 3.5 over the Marinos de Lote.
In the Central League, the vanguard corresponds at this moment to the Yomiuri Giants with a balance of eight wins and two failures. Behind are the Hiroshima Carps (7-3) and the Chunichi Dragons (5-5).
