Pinar del Río avoids a sweep with a 7-5 win over Ciego; Granma evens the series after a 12-3 victory over Industriales

The Vegueros de Pinar del Río avoided a four-game sweep against the leaders of the Third Cuban Baseball Elite League (III LEBC), Ciego de Ávila, with a 7-5 victory this Thursday afternoon. Granma, meanwhile, defeated Industriales 12-3, tying the four-game series at two wins apiece. Both victories did nothing to change the standings of the current tournament, with Ciego de Ávila, Las Tunas, Industriales, and Santiago de Cuba currently in the qualifying zone for the tournament's postseason.

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Raikol Suárez, left, made a good start to prevent Ciego de Ávila's sweep. (Photo by Henry Morejón)

Pinar del Río 7, Ciego de Ávila 5

Just one inning was enough for Pinar del Río, the second, to avoid a four-game sweep against Ciego de Ávila, defeating the leading team of this III LEBC 7-5, at the Capitán San Luis stadium in Pinar del Río. Six hits, including four consecutive ones at the start of the second inning against starter Kevin Soto (3-3), drove him off the mound and initiated an inning where Pinar del Río capitalized on doubles by Yasiel González, Tailon Sánchez, and Lázaro Blanco, along with two errors by the Ciego de Ávila defense, to score six runs that secured their victory. Frank González, Dainier López, Sánchez, Lázaro Acosta, and Blanco contributed RBIs in the inning for the winners, who benefited from a solid start by right-hander Raikol Suárez (1-3). Suárez pitched 7 1/3 innings, preventing runs in four of them, and ultimately allowed nine hits—he should not have started the eighth inning—resulting in five runs, four of which were earned, with one strikeout and one walk. His efforts secured him his first win of the tournament. When Ciego posed a threat in the eighth inning, with Suárez being taking out of the game after Leo Escalante's single and Frederich Cepeda's double—his 478th in the National Series, al-time leader—veteran José A. García (5) stepped in to assist. He allowed a double from the first batter he faced, Robert L. Delgado, which reduced Pinar del Río's lead to 7-5. However, García then retired the next two batters in the eighth, including striking out the dangerous Jonathan Bridón. In the ninth, García faced the minimum of batters, helped by the poor baserunning of Yoasán Guillén, who made a mistake running the bases and was doubled at first base during Greyson Bergery fly to right field. For García, this marked his fifth save in the current LEBC III and his 313th in National Series history, making him the league's all-time leader. The win left Pinar seven games behind the Ciego de Ávila team, still stuck in last place in the tournament.

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Alaín Sánchez delivers a pitch, leading his team to victory over Industriales on Thursday. (Photo by Periódico La Demajagua)

Granma 12, Industriales 3

Granma, with a total of 18 hits, comfortably defeated Industriales 12-3 at Mártires de Barbados stadium in Granma this Thursday afternoon. Granma scored three runs in the first, fifth, and sixth innings, which allowed them to cruise to victory. In the first inning, facing starter José E. Pérez (0-1), Yulieski Remón and Yordanis Samón hit doubles, while Darián Palma and Andy Cosme added singles, quickly scoring three runs. It seemed like the beginning of an offensive onslaught, but Pérez managed to recover. Despite encountering issues in the third and fourth innings, he overcame them and went on to pitch three consecutive scoreless innings, providing his team with chances to get back into the game. And the Havana team delivered. In the second inning against veteran right-hander Alaín Sánchez (1-1), Ariel Hechavarría hit a double to left field, and Pedro Roque brought him home with a single to right, making the score 3-1. The tie came in the following inning. With one out, Alfredo Rodríguez singled to center and advanced to third on Ángel Hechavarría's double to right. The bases were loaded when Laza was intentionally walked, leading to one run scoring on a wild pitch, and another run being driven in by a Yasiel Santoya grounder to shortstop, tying the game. However, Industriales' offense stalled there, as veteran Sánchez held them back for another three innings. He allowed just five hits, struck out two, and walked one over his six innings, securing the win. The remainder of the game was managed by reliever Geyler Gracial (1) and the Granma offense. Gracial pitched three scoreless innings, giving up three hits without any strikeouts or walks, earning his first save. Meanwhile, the offense knocked Pérez out in the fifth inning and subsequently forced the use of four relievers, none of whom could effectively halt Granma's momentum. The decisive three runs in the fifth inning began with Pedro Almeida starting the inning with a double, followed by a single from Samón that put Granma ahead 4-3. Shortly after, reliever Diosvel Nápoles faced Palma, who struck out, but Cosme managed to walk. Leonardo Alarcón hit a grounder to the pitcher, advancing the runners, and Andrés de la Cruz was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Damián Moreno followed with a single that drove in Samón, while a fielder's choice allowed Cosme to score the third run. In the sixth, Granma put three more runs on the board, one of them driven in by Palma' single and the other two when Alarcón doubled to left. The Granma team capped off their offensive celebration by scoring an additional run in the seventh inning and two more in the eighth, securing the final score. This victory prevented Granma from dropping to the bottom of the standings. They are now six games behind the top-seeded Ciego de Ávila and only one game behind Santiago de Cuba, which currently occupies the last playoff qualifying spot.

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