Crocodiles jump to the top of Cuba’s baseball scene.
With timely batting and a gem of a mound by left-hander Dennis Quesada, the Matanzas team defeated Pinar del Río in seven innings by an 11-0 knockout, signing its fifth consecutive victory and remaining alone at the top of the sixty-second National Baseball Series, which today will conclude the eighth particular sub-series.
The national runner-up Crocodiles counted on solid all-round work by Quesada, who pitched at a rate of four hits, an equal number of strikeouts and with just one walk to achieve his fifth victory of the tournament. He tied for the lead with Isaias Grandales (SSP), Miguel Macías (CMG), Yunieski García (ART), Geonel Gutiérrez (ART) and pinero Jonathan Carbó.
Batting for the Saurios was their middle infielder Aníbal Medina, who hit 4-2 with a home run and four RBIs. Between the seven Vegueros pitchers, conceded a whopping 11 bases on balls. Matanzas has handed two consecutive shutouts to Pinar del Río.
Another team that made a spectacular leap in the standings was Isla de la Juventud, whose 4-3 win over Cienfuegos moved them into second place with Artemisa. For the Pirates, their leading hitter, Elíseo Rojas, was outstanding, going 3-2 with a double and a tow. Yordanis Díaz won and Franky Quintana signed his seventh save.
In other results, there was a split of honours between Mayabeque and Sancti Spíritus. The Huracanes won first (8-6) and then the Gallos (6-2).
In addition, Industriales knocked out 11-0 to the reigning champions Granma, Camagüey beat Santiago de Cuba 7-4, Ciego de Ávila 9-2 to Artemisa, while the game between Villa Clara and Las Tunas was sealed in the seventh inning when the Azucareros were leading 4-2.
