Livan Moinelo
Havana, October 27 (JIT) - Cuban Liván Moinelo scored today the second victory of the Softbank Falcons against the DeNA Stars (6x3), in the Japan Baseball Series 2024, which pits the winners of the Central and Pacific leagues.
In a packed Yokohama Stadium, the left-hander pitched six and two-thirds innings, in which he scattered eight hits and allowed three runs.
Moinelo relied on his fast pitches above 90 miles per hour and managed to strike out six, to get out of difficult moments. He also showed excellent control, allowing just one base on balls.
Mexico's Roberto Osuna earned his first save of this final, retiring all three batters he faced in a row.
Starter Hotaka Yamakawa was the offensive star of the game, after hitting the first home run of the final and two singles in four innings, good for three runs.
The other three SoftBank scores came courtesy of a single by shortstop Taisei Makihara and a sacrifice fly by catcher Takuya Kai.
The Falcons lead the Japan Series 2-0 against DeNA. And Moinelo remains in excellent condition to be the Cuban starter against the Dominican Republic in the debut of the Premier 12 Tournament on November 13.