Crocodiles Bite First: X-Ray of a Victory

The Matanzas Crocodiles began their journey in the 65th edition of the National Baseball Series with a victory by defeating the Cienfuegos Elephants 6-0.

Matanzas opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning, taking advantage of Hanyelo Videt’s double to right field, followed by Eduardo Blanco’s sacrifice fly that brought in the first run of the game.

Right at the midpoint of the contest, Aníbal Medina sent the ball out of the park over left field to increase the lead in favor of the local squad, 2-0.

In that same inning, the Yumurino cleanup hitter Andrys Pérez hit a tremendous shot that cleared the left-field fence and landed in the second section of the stands to add another run to the cause of the team led by Armando Ferrer.

Left-hander Yoennis Yera was immense on the mound; in five innings he gave no liberties to the green-and-black offense, struck out four rivals, and allowed only three hits.

In the sixth inning, the native of the Martí municipality yielded his place on the mound so that reliever Yosney García could take charge of the situation.

Yosney, for his part, handled the sixth episode without setbacks, but in the seventh inning the defense played a bad trick on him, complicating his performance too much.

With a three-run lead on the scoreboard, the Matanzas high command decided to give left-hander Naykel Cruz the opportunity to debut in the 65th contest of the domestic bat-and-ball classic.

The pitcher, a native of the El Cocal neighborhood in the provincial capital, knew how to take advantage of the possibility and respond to the support of a public that applauded him after three years of absence from the baseball of the largest Caribbean archipelago.

Naykel walked the eighth and ninth acts to earn the save and close with a golden finish the inaugural game for the champions of Cuba.

One of the keys to the Yumurino success lay in good base running, especially reflected in José de Jesús Prens, who, without being the most agile of the ballplayers, managed to steal three bases, enabling the team to make plays.

Offensively, the great hero of the contest was Aníbal Medina, who hit 3-for-3 with a home run and a pair of walks, and although the offense did not fully get going, it did know how to do so at the key moments.

Another of the keys to the game lay in the magnificent work of the pitching staff, since only three pitchers were used, giving rest to the rest of the staff and completely stopping the Elephants’ offense.

Matanzas took a big step in a championship that, in addition to being short, has the complexity of being played by zones, which adds a nuance of importance to every baseball game.