Granma vs. Matanzas

Matanzas, Cuba, Jul 7 (PL) Alazanes de Granma made the comeback by defeating the Cocodrilos de Matanzas today with a score of 9-2, to qualify for the semifinals of the 63rd National Baseball Series.

In the first chapter, the Alazanes quickly attacked the deliveries of starter Dennys Quesada by scoring two runs to get the left-hander from Matanzas off the mound, who was relieved in that episode by right-hander Noervys Entenza, which unleashed the joy of the thousands of fans attending the Mártires de Barbados stadium.

The Cocodrilos quickly rebounded and tied the challenge in the second inning against starter Yunier Castillo, foreshadowing the tough battle that would be lived in search of the last place in the semifinals of Cuban baseball.

The scoreboard of the Mártires de Barbados stadium witnessed the dominance of the pitchers with zeros after zeros until the bottom of the sixth episode when Raico Santos' right field rocket put the Alazanes ahead 3-2.

Santos again became the scorer for the eastern team when he hit another run-scoring single, this time against reliever Armando Dueñas to make the game 4-2 in the eighth chapter, while minutes later the offense was unleashed to make the game 9-2.

An immense Castillo held the Saurios at bay, unable to deploy his powerful bites against the left-hander who in eight innings allowed only four hits and two runs and thus helped Granma defeat Matanzas for the fifth time in the history of the play-offs.

Starting next Wednesday, the semifinal duels will begin with Pinar del Río-Industriales and Granma-Las Tunas in matches also agreed to the best of seven games.

Source: Prensa Latina