Baseball: Agricultores says goodbye with loss to Chiriqui (4-10)
Havana, February 8 (ACN)-- In a game of formality to fulfill the competitive calendar, the Cuban team Agricultores de Cuba said goodbye today to the LXV Caribbean Baseball Series Caracas 2023, with a 4-10 defeat against Federales de Chiriqui of Panama, its sixth successive in the tournament.
Both teams were eliminated since yesterday from any mathematical possibility of being included in the dispute for medals, so today's game barely contributed which one closed in the eighth and last place.
The team coached by Carlos Martí, who included players from Granma and Las Tunas, as well as some reinforcements, finished in the eighth and last place.
This performance has been the worst of all those signed by a Cuban team since the reincorporation to the Caribbean Series in the 2014 Margarita Island event, precisely since the least acceptable one, when the Villa Clara Orange team finished fifth out of six possible places, with a balance of one victory and four defeats.
In the game against the Federales de Chiriquí, played at the Simón Bolívar stadium in La Rinconada, Martí's disciples gave up 10 hits, but their pitching staff - seven pitchers were used - was severely punished with 15 hits, in addition to giving out a whopping 11 bases on balls and one hit.
The Chiriqui team, which before this match was the one with the lowest batting average in the tournament, today went to bat, although they were unproductive as they left 16 runners on the pads.
In addition, the Canaleros stole six bases, distributed in three per capita for Tunisian catchers Yosvani Alarcón and Rafael Viñales.
For Cuba, left-hander Leandro Martínez, who was making his debut in the tournament, opened the game and exploded early, allowing three hits and four walks.
In the losing cause, center fielder Yunieski Larduet, who went 4-3 with a triple and a pair of runs, was the standout hitter.