Yurisbel Gracial hit her 16th home run in Japanese baseball league

June 19, 2019

The Cuban Yurisbel Gracial connected his sixteenth home run of the year this Tuesday, scored two runs and drove in one, in the 6-4 victory of the SoftBank Hawks over the Yakult Swallows, in the Interleague phase of Japanese baseball.

As a visitor at the Meiji Jingu stadium in Tokyo, the sturdy batter from Matanzas produced his third home run in the last five games, and also added a single in four at-bats, to raise his batting average to .329 and total 33 RBIs.

But his teammate and compatriot Alfredo Despaigne did not have similar luck, as he went 0-for-4, including two strikeouts, to lower his average to .269.

Meanwhile, left-handed pitcher from Pinar del Río Liván Moinelo allowed two hits in one inning of relief, but overcame that bad moment by striking out two opponents. Thus, he lowered his ERA to 1.20 earned runs per game.

Really, the Yakult Swallows do not have a better record, as they occupy last place both in their Central League and in these Interleague games.

In this Interleague phase, the SoftBank Hawks are in first place, with a record of eight wins, two ties and three losses, tied with the Yomiuri Giants (9-4-0). The SoftBank of the Cuban players competes in the Pacific zone, while Yomiuri does so in the Central League.