Pitcher Erly Casanova seeks milestone in his Cuban baseball career

He would become the 81st pitcher to reach 100 wins in the National Series.

In today's game between Industriales and Artemisa, pitcher Erly Casanova is seeking his 100th victory in the Cuban baseball championships.

A native of Pinar del Rio, Casanova is the son of one of the greatest players of this sport on the island, Luis Giraldo Casanova. He has been called to reinforce the Artemisa squad of the Elite Cuban Baseball League.

According to the official statistics of the championship, he has recorded two wins and one loss without allowing earned runs in 20 innings pitched.

The reason he doesn't lead the tournament in ERA is because he hasn't accumulated the minimum of 26 games played.

Furthermore, he displays a Whip of 0.85 and his opponents hit him just .176, which confirms his status as one of the best pitchers in the league.

Against Industriales, Casanova could become the 81st pitcher to reach the 100-win plateau, a list headed by Pedro Luis Lazo, also from Pinar del Rio (257).

A bit of an emotional bonus will help Cazadores win again, as the Havana Lions have fallen into decline in the tournament with five consecutive losses, the last one yesterday by the Mercy Rule with just one hit in the game.

Geonel Gutiérrez allowed one hit to Jorge Enrique Alomá in the eighth inning before the 10-0 score was recorded.

He dominated Industriales in the last Cuban National Series, completing the second perfect game in Cuban baseball championships, by a score of 16-0, also via the Mercy Rule in five innings.

During yesterday's games, in the most expected result of the tournament, Las Tunas beat Matanzas 8-7 and cut their winning streak to nine.

In the ninth inning, Osvaldo Abreu drove in the winning run with a double. Rodolfo Díaz pitched - 3.0 IP, 1H, 2K, 1BB - three scoreless innings to get the win.

Also yesterday Santiago de Cuba tied the series against Sancti Spíritus beating them 6-1. Wilber Reina (6.0 IP, 5H, 5K, 2BB) gave Santiago its first successful start of the tournament.Osvaldo Acuña threw the last three innings and was credited with the save.

Artemisa and Industriales play a doubleheader on Saturday to make up for Thursday's game postponed due to transportation issues. Matanzas-Las Tunas and Santiago de Cuba-Sancti Spíritus will play a single game.

Matanzas leads the standings (16-10), followed by Sancti Spíritus (14-12), Artemisa (13-12), Las Tunas (13-13), Industriales (12-13) and Santiago de Cuba (9- 17).