Santiago de Cuba beat Camagüey 7-4 and regained the lead in the 61st edition of the Cuban National Baseball Series, in which champion Granma crushed Artemisa 12-1.
Havana, February 14 (RHC/PL)-- Santiago de Cuba beat Camagüey by a score of 7-4 and regained the lead in the 61st edition of the Cuban National Baseball Series, in which champion Granma crushed Artemisa 12-1.
At the Guillermón Moncada stadium, Avispas and Toros were tied 2-2 at the end of the fourth inning, but a five-run run in the next inning led the locals to victory, their 11th with four losses.
Edialbert Valentín got the hit, Pedro Luis Guzmán the setback and Luis Fonseca earned his seventh save to consolidate his place at the top of the league standings.
Center fielder Yoelquis Guibert homered for the winners and shortstop Alexander Ayala for the losers.
With their victory, the men of coach Eriberto Rosales took a half-game lead over the Cocodrilos de Matanzas, who were surprised by the Cazadores de Artemisa, better this Sunday 1-0. In a duel of left-handed pitchers, Geonel Gutiérrez won and Naikel Cruz was defeated, while the experienced right-hander José Ángel García got his fourth save of the game and his 277th to consolidate his position as historical leader of Cuban baseball.
Meanwhile, the champion Granma punished Vladimir Garcia, starter of Ciego de Avila, early on and did not stop until he was out of action 12-1 in seven innings.
Yunier Castillo got the hit and his teammates Alexquemer Sanchez and Roel Santos hit the ball over the fences, in the case of the latter, with two teammates in circulation to push three runs.
Mayabeque, Industriales, Isla de la Juventud, Sancti Spíritus and Las Tunas also won.
The Huracanes defeated the Vegueros of Pinar del Río 7-2, with Mailon Cruz's third smile and Branlis Rodríguez's first loss, while Industriales beat the Elefantes of Cienfuegos 8-3.
Juan Xavier Peñalver, in relief, was the winner of the match and the starter Yasmani Insua took the loss of the duel, in which Jorge Enrique Alomá and Andrés Hernández hit home runs for the winners, his fourth of the campaign.
Isla de la Juventud defeated Villa Clara 13-7, in a game in which Alberto Hechaarría went through the wide door and Eriel Carrillo through the narrow one, Kendry Hernández saved the game, while Leandro Turiño and Yeniet Pérez hit home runs for the losers.
At the Calixto García, in the city of Holquín, the Sancti Spíritus Gallos defeated the local "Cachorros" 3-1, with Ariel Zerquera's victory, Wilson Paredes' failure and Yanieski Duardo's save.
And in another game of the day, Las Tunas won 7-5 against Guantánamo, supported by home runs by Rafael Viñales and Yosvani Alarcón to back up the work of the winner, Alejandro Meneses, and to certify the setback of Daniel Blanco.
Left-hander Yudier Rodríguez got his first save of the competition and Robert Luis Delgado struck out for the Indios del Guaso.
After these results, Santiago de Cuba leads the tournament (11-4), followed by Matanzas (10-5), Mayabeque (9-5), Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spíritus and Industriales, Pinar del Río and Granma.
Behind the middle of the table are Villa Clara and Artemisa, both with seven wins and an equal number of losses, Isla de la Juventud (7-8), Las Tunas and Guantánamo (6-9), Camagüey and Cienfuegos (5-10) and Holguín (3-12).
