Despaigne with a perfect day in Japanese baseball

Havana, September 19 (RHC)-- Cuban Alfredo Despaigne went 3-3 on Sunday with a double, a pair of singles and a walk in the SoftBank Falcons' 2x4 loss to the Rakuten Eagles, at the latter's home in Sendai.

According to www.beisboljapones.com, the offensive average of the Granma slugger rose to .240 in the 2021 Japanese baseball season, in which his team seems to be out of the postseason.

In that game, Rusney Castillo (from Rakuten) failed in four innings, including two strikeouts, to reduce his average to .232.

On the same day, Yariel Rodríguez took the loss of the Chunichi Dragons against the DeNA Stars, after allowing four runs and five hits in five complete innings, in which he struck out seven opponents and gave one ticket. The Camagüey native's record was 0-3 and his ERA was 4.66.

Dayán Viciedo went 3-1 with a single and strikeout, to raise his average to .282, while Ariel Martínez failed in a relief appearance to lower his to .235, all in the Dragons' cause.

At the Sapporo Dome Leonys Martin missed two innings, took a walk and scored a run in the Lotte Marinos' 4x0 win over the Nippon Ham Fighters. His average dropped to .249. Adeiny Hechavarría failed to add a hit in four trips to the rubber to lower his average to .185.

The Central League is led by the Hanshin Tigers (62-47-5), escorted by the Yakult Swallows (54-42-14) and Yomiuri Giants (55-45-16). Chunichi is fourth (46-56-14), 12.5 games out of first place.

In the Pacific League, the Lotte Marinos (55-41-17) lead over the Orix Buffaloes (55-46-15) and Rakuten Eagles (53-49-13). The Falcons are next at 46-50-19, nine points off the top.

In each circuit, the top three finishers in the preliminary phase will advance to the postseason (October-November). The leaders will only play in the second round, which will offer tickets to the Japan Series.