Leñadores de Las Tunas took advantage of today’s win and Tigres de Ciego de Avila’s slip to climb back into first place in the III Elite League of Cuban Baseball.
The team led by Abeyci Pantoja once again overcame the Vegueros de Pinar del Río, this time 8-3, and signed their 16th victory in 24 outings, enough to overtake the felines on average.
The Tuneros have now won five times this season, thanks to timely batting and the lack of control of the rival pitching. Leonel Moas stood out with two of his team’s six hits, including a solo home run.
Raidel Alfonso took the credit after working five two-run innings, while Gabriel Cantero took the loss after giving away seven tickets and allowing four runs in just one inning.
For the Vegueros, Tailon Sanchez continued to fire up and hit two home runs, although both with no runners on base.
At the Estadio José Ramón Cepero, the Alazanes de Granma sweated it out but beat the Tigres 4-3 in 10 innings, putting them back in the qualification zone.
With 16 hits spread among all the regulars, the Alazanes managed to beat the best pitching in the championship. Andres de la Cruz and Pedro Almeida had three hits each, while the game’s two extra-base hits (a double and a home run) came courtesy of the historic Frederich Cepeda, albeit from the losing side.
Yanielquis Duardo pitched a flawless 3.2 innings of relief to earn the win, and Leonardo Moreira took the loss after allowing the go-ahead run.
Finally, Industriales de La Habana defeated the Avispas de Santiago de Cuba 7-4, tying the particular duel and securing third place in the standings.
Right-hander Yadián Martínez maintained his unbeaten record (3-0) with a six-inning start and just two runs allowed, one of them a home run by Yoelkis Guibert, the tournament leader with seven home runs.
Offensively, Angel Alfredo Hechavarría shined with two singles, a double and two RBIs, and Dairon Miranda, who also drove in two with a pair of hits.
Starter Wilber Reyna was the loser, after barely getting one out and allowing one clean run.
With these results, Las Tunas leads the standings with a 16-8 record and an average of .667, followed by Ciego de Avila (21-11) with .656, but only one win away from securing a post-season berth.
Further back are Industriales (17-19), Granma and Santiago de Cuba (14-18) and Pinar del Río (14-22).
