Havana, March 21 (ACN) - The Cuban Tigers beat Matanzas twice and took the lead in the 63rd National Baseball Series, which is in its third particular sub-series.
The troop of Olympic champion Dany Miranda won with 7x3 and 10x0 (five innings). Jonathan Bridón, who hit 8-4 with four runs in the doubleheader, was outstanding with his lumber.
First, in relief, Dachel Duquesne got his third hit of the season and tied for the lead with Yadier Garay. Then, Ediel Ponce pitched a complete game one-hitter and Ciego signed its fifth consecutive victory.
For its part, Pinar del Río left the monarch Las Tunas 2x1 on the field, thanks to an error and the effective relief of Orisbel Borges, who did not allow a run in the tenth act.
Granma achieved its fourth successive victory, this time 8x4 against Holguín, which has five losses in a row. Kelvis Rodríguez signed his fourth save (leader) and Guillermo García hit a home run for the Alazanes.
Another team that is going from strength to strength is Camagüey. After an uncertain start, they have four consecutive wins after beating Guantanamo 10x8 on Wednesday. Catcher Ermindo Escobar led the Toros' success with 4-3, including a home run with bases loaded and five runs.
In other results, Industriales beat Cienfuegos 4x3, Isla de la Juventud 6x4 to Santiago de Cuba, Mayabeque 5x3 to Artemisa and Villa Clara 16x10 to Sancti Spíritus in a game of 26 runs, 27 hits with no home runs and six errors. The espirituano Frederich Cepeda hit a double and consolidated his position as historical leader in the national series, with 458, two ahead of Yordanis Samón.
In the Pinar-Las Tunas clash, former major leaguer Alexei Ramirez returned to the Capitán San Luis stadium wearing the colors of the Vegueros de Pinar del Río team, in front of thousands of fans who cheered him as if he had never left.
It was a dream come true," he told the press, "because a few days ago I had asked the people of Pinar del Rio to attend the game against the team from Las Tunas, the first at home in the current National Baseball Series, and the people of Pinar del Rio packed the stands.
Although he did not stand out offensively, Alexei is the spark plug of a team that aspires to improve the result of the previous season and qualify.
His uncle was in the stands; "the only one in the family who played baseball and for whom I became a baseball player; and although he is going through a difficult time, he continues to support me", he said.
Alexei, 42, played nine seasons in the Major Leagues with the Chicago White Sox and the San Diego Padres, with an offensive average of .270, a rookie record for home runs with the bases loaded, two Silver Bats and attended one All-Star Game.
