Los Alazanes de Granma confirmed their favoritism prior to the play off of the 60th National Baseball Series and made their way to the semifinals by unseating the Industriales Lions on Wednesday.
Hanging on the arm of the stellar Lázaro Blanco, the people of Granma prevailed over those of Havana in a close match, defined by just one race (2 × 1), and left the capital’s inhabitants in the gutter, again unable to fight for the crown of the championship.
Blanco made another quality start – he had already achieved the first success of his team in the duel against Industriales, with grout included -, in which he only tolerated a clean run at the beginning of the game, dispersed six hits, distributed six strikeouts and gave two tickets in seven performance tickets.
Behind, Kelbis RodrÃguez endured a couple of blue cannon shots in a third of the job, but Miguel Paradelo and Carlos Santana – who scored the save – closed the lock and left those led by Guillermo Carmona wanting to be included in the vanguard quartet.
At bat, second baseman Carlos BenÃtez and catcher Iván Prieto connected four of the six Alazanes hits – two each -, including the two doubles that made the difference on the scoreboard at the height of the third inning. At that inning, both teams had embraced a race, and from then on the board was painted with zeros.
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For Industriales, the starter Maikel Taylor suffered again from his lack of control, when he came out crestfallen with a couple of tickets and without getting an out, but his relief, Pavel Hernández set face to Lázaro Blanco and tied the Granmen short, although at the dessert bore defeat. Closer Andy RodrÃguez did not allow liberties either, but his departure was ultimately sterile.
However, the Lions can leave the Series 60 with their heads held high, after overcoming a coronavirus outbreak, achieving their classification even without several of their starters in the decisive stretch, and after forcing a fifth game in the play off against the Alazanes. Although, it is already known, all of this may gradually become known to a Havana fan eager for their team to return to the top of Cuban baseball.
For the Alazanes of Carlos MartÃ, for their part, today’s victory is an injection of confidence for the semifinals, an instance in which the Vegueros de Pinar del RÃo are already there after liquidating the leader Sancti SpÃritus. In addition, it allows them to ask first in the request for reinforcements thanks to the early elimination of the Spiritus Roosters.
However, there is still uncertainty as to when the next phase duels may begin, since the quarterfinal series between Matanzas and Cienfuegos, and between Santiago de Cuba and Las Tunas, had to be interrupted by cases of COVID- 19 and it is not yet known when they could be held.