Cubs shipwrecked in Pirates’ home field

The Isla de la Juventud Pirates, though mired at the bottom of the standings and out of playoff contention, remain a tough opponent at their home stadium, Cristóbal Labra. As they demonstrated this Tuesday by defeating the Holguin Cubs 9-8 in the opening game of the penultimate round of the 64th Cuban National Baseball Series.

The Pirates took the lead in the bottom of the first inning with two runs. But the Cubs rallied in the third, scoring three runs and extending their advantage in the fourth with four runs. When they chased starting pitcher Roberto Rodríguez (3.2 IP, 4 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 4 K, 4 BB, 1 DB).

Visiting starter Luis Caser (4.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 K, 2 BB), who had managed three consecutive strikeouts after a shaky start. Ran into trouble in the fifth inning when he allowed two more runs. Despite an excellent relief appearance by Jesús Quintán. With the bases loaded, Quintán induced a double play from the first batter he faced and retired the next on a groundout to shortstop.

Quintán pitched a scoreless sixth, although he allowed a double and issued a walk. But in the seventh he was hit hard, surrendering four hits. Including a double, a walk, and hitting a batter, resulting in five earned runs.

With two outs in the seventh, left-hander Andriw Valido entered the game and allowed a two-run single, charged to the outgoing pitcher. In the eighth, he pitched a scoreless eighth, although he gave up a hit and struck out a batter. The Holguin team, who left 10 men on base, scored one run in the eighth inning. Also they were retired on one, two, and three runs in the ninth, two by strikeout.

In short, the Pirates, who committed one error, collected 14 hits, double the number of the Cubs. Who didn’t hit any extra-base hits and played error-free. The win went to the second of the islanders’ relievers, Raúl Guilarte (2-4), Alberto Hechavarría earned his third save, and the loss was charged to Quintán (3-2).

For the winners, Boris Madrazo went 4-for-5 with two doubles, Christian Figueredo went 2-for-3 with a double, and Hanly Verdecia went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. For Holguin, Luis Raúl Domínguez stood out offensively, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs, while Jorlis Bravo went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

On Tuesday, the Las Tunas Lumberjacks maintained their lead in the series by defeating the combative Cienfuegos Elephants 7-4 in extra innings at their home stadium, Estadio 5 de Septiembre, bringing their total to 40 wins. Rodolfo Díaz recorded a spectacular save, pitching 4.2 scoreless innings and earning his eighth win of the season.

Industriales defeated the Ciego de Avila Tigers 9-5 at Estadio José Ramón Cepero, snapping a three-game losing streak. The Sancti Spiritus Gallos defeated the last-place Guantanamo Indios 3-2 at their home stadium, Nguyen Van Troi, climbing to seventh place in the standings.

The Villa Clara Leopardos routed the Artemisa Cazadores 10-1 at Augusto César Sandino Stadium. Keeping them in the playoff hunt and dropping their rivals to eighth place. The game between Camagüey and Pinar del Rio was suspended due to rain, while the Santiago de Cuba vs. Mayabeque game was suspended due to darkness, with Mayabeque leading 10-2.

Following these results, the leading pack in the standings is as follows: Las Tunas (40-21). Holguin (40-25, 2.0); Matanzas (40-26, 2.5). Mayabeque (37-25, 3.5). Industriales (37-26, 4.0); Cienfuegos (34-28, 6.5). Sancti Spiritus (35-31, 7.5); and Artemisa (33-30, 8.0).
Noire Aguilera Montaña
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