Today is a day of excitement at the José Ramón Cepero stadium, where the Tigres de Ciego de Ávila will open the semi-finals of the III Elite League of Cuban Baseball by hosting the Leones de Industriales.

The hosts, led by Danny Miranda, arrive with the tag of favourites after leading the qualifying stage, but they will face a Leones team from the capital who, although they finished fourth, are reinforced and eager to roar loudly on the field. On paper, the Industriales look better armed, but the field will dictate the outcome in this series that promises sparks.

During the regular season, the two teams met eight times and split the honours with four wins apiece, a result that complicates the specialists’ predictions.

To reinforce their line-up, the Tigers have opted to improve their offence – their Achilles’ heel – by adding the feared slugger Yordanis Samón, a true Granma cannon, and the versatile infielder Tailon Sánchez, who arrives from Pinar del Río to provide versatility.

For their part, the Industriales, coached by Guillermo Carmona, had to replace their starting catcher Andrys Pérez, who is out sick, and their closer Armando Dueñas, who is on tour abroad.

To do so, they called up mask Andy Cosme, a well-known member of the national team, and historic shortstop José Ángel García, the leader in games saved in Cuban baseball.

On the mound will be left-hander Ariel Zerquera, the league’s winningest lefty with seven wins and a remarkable average of 2.88 earned runs allowed per nine innings.

On the blue side, right-hander Pavel Hernández will be in charge of opening the game, with the endorsement of having led the league in strikeouts (42) and a WHIP of 1.03, in addition to registering the second-best ERA of the season (2.09).

The duel is served and hearts begin to beat stronger in Ciego de Avila. Meanwhile, tomorrow it will be the turn of Las Tunas, when they host the Avispas de Santiago de Cuba in the other semi-final at the Julio Antonio Mella stadium.