Raidel Martínez: 20 saves and ties for the lead in the Central zone of Japanese baseball

October 16, 2020

Havana, Oct. 16 (ACN) Cuban pitcher Raidel Martínez recorded his twentieth save of the year today, in the 8-6 victory of the Chunichi Dragons over the Hiroshima Carp, at Mazda Stadium, in the Japanese Professional Baseball League.

Raidel came out of the bullpen in the ninth inning and once again responded to the confidence placed in his pitches by manager Tsuyoshi Yoda, as he pitched flawlessly without allowing hits or runs. Thus, the speedy right-hander from Pinar del Río tied for the league lead in that category in the Central League; his ERA dropped to 1.15.

Camaguey right-hander Yariel Rodríguez opened that game for Chunichi, earning his third win of the year; but in five innings he allowed three runs and seven hits.

Yariel, who had not won since August 22, improved his season record to three wins and four losses, while his earned run average rose to 4.23.

Also for Chunichi, Villa Clara first baseman Dayán Viciedo went hitless in four at-bats and drew a walk, lowering his average to .259.

In another game of the day, Cuban Yurisbel Gracial hit a single in one at-bat, scored one run and drove in another, in the 7-3 victory of the SoftBank Hawks over the Rakuten Eagles, at the PayPay Dome in Fukuoka.

Gracial, who was replaced in the second inning, raised his average to .277 and his RBI total to 23.

And Villa Clara native Leonys Martín hit his 25th home run of the season on Friday in four plate appearances, and drove in two runs to contribute to the 5-1 victory of the Lotte Marines over the Nippon Ham Fighters, at the ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba.

The Caribbean outfielder, who had not struck out since September 29, left his average at .238 and reached 65 RBIs.