The Tigres de Ciego de Avila are going all out today in Pinar del Río to complete the sweep against the Vegueros and continue to lead in the III Elite League of Cuban Baseball.

If they manage to win, Danny Miranda’s felines would be only the second team in this series to win four in a row against the same opponent, something only achieved so far by Las Tunas against Industriales.

Few imagined that by now Ciego would have 16 smiles in 23 games and half a ticket to the postseason. They have been able to combine a top-notch pitching -they lead the league with a 3.54 ERA- and the strength of the reinforcements in the batting, leaving all predictions behind.
Yesterday they defeated the Pinareños 6-4, who continue to stumble with the glove: they committed five errors and have now accumulated 43 in the tournament, with a fielding average of .960, only better than Avispas de Santiago de Cuba.

Yunier Batista shone from the bullpen with four innings and two thirds flawless, while Leonardo Moreira closed the curtain and added his fourth save.

On the other side, the best came from Jenier Álvarez, who posted four more shutouts and lowered his ERA to 1.29, the best of the championship.
In another match, the Industriales de La Habana want to continue their good form against the Alazanes de Granma at the Mártires de Barbados. They have already beaten them twice away from home and are going for more.

The Blues won 8-3 yesterday with 17 RBIs, raising their offensive average to a tournament-high .319. Dennis Laza hit a home run, and Alfredo Rodriguez and Angel Hechavarria had six hits between them.

Pitcher Pavel Hernandez took the plaudits with seven fine innings, a single earned run and four strikeouts to consolidate his lead in that category with 35.

The league standings show Ciego de Avila in the lead (16-7), followed by Las Tunas (10-6), Industriales (14-13), Santiago de Cuba (11-13), Granma (9-14) and Pinar del Rio (10-17).