Adeiny Hechavarría OPENED THE PLAYOFFS with JONRÓN CLAVE and bat flip included. Cubans in Asia

By Juan Páez

The postseason of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) began and, immediately, there was Cuban protagonism. At Chiba Lotte Marines 5 × 4 triumph over Tohoku Rakuten Golden EaglesAdeiny Hechavarría hit a key hit despite starting the engagement. He came off the bench as a pinch hitter and hit a crucial home run.

The shortstop replaced the fifth bat in the lineup and took a single official turn in the challenge, but the Cuban made it count. His home run, the only one for his club in this game, came alone at the end of the eighth inning with two outs, when Chiba lost 4 × 3. The islander did not miss a Yuki Matsui fastball across center to return it to the furthest left field.

Enjoy the video of Adeiny’s connection. Good way to enjoy a home run!

As a curious fact that gives Hechavarría even more merits is that the left-hander Matsui was one of the best relievers of the regular season, with a 0.63 ERA. Of the 172 batters he faced in the knockout stage (43.0 EL), he allowed only one full-return slam. Ironically, Adeiny only removed four balls from the park in 79 games and 216 plate appearances.

After the flyby near the Cuban shortstop, Chiba made a run in the ninth inning to complete the comeback and leave Rakuten on the ground, in a duel witnessed by almost 15 thousand people (14,904) at the ZOZO Marine Stadium, Chiba.

The other Cuban who saw action was Leonys Martín, who did start for his club (designated hitter). But the slugger didn’t have the best of luck, going 2-0 with a pair of strikeouts. On the positive side, he walked two and scored a run.

The series will resume this Sunday. If they get one more victory, the Marines will advance to the next stage, where they will face the Buffaloes Orix starting Wednesday of next week.

In news from the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), the Doosan Bears will be without Ariel Miranda in the final playoff series game against the LG Twins. The Cuban southpaw, with a great and historic performance in the regular round, shows fatigue in his left shoulder. The reason could be his 173.2 innings thrown in the knockout stage, the highest of his career (including the National Series).

Remember that this and all the summaries involving Cuban players can be found by following this link, that is, clicking here.

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Adeiny Hechavarría OPENED THE PLAYOFFS with JONRÓN CLAVE and bat flip included. Cubans in Asia