LAST MINUTE: Matanzas announced important absences from the opening game of Series 61

By Pablo Picardo

Just over 48 hours separate us from the start of the 61st National Baseball Series at the Mártires de Barbados Stadium in the City of Bayamo, which will host last season’s Awards Gala this Friday night.

With a view to this inaugural game, the starters were announced by both mentors, who come out again as the main favorites to win the crown, according to information from journalist Guillermo Rodríguez.

✅ Attention ✅ César García and Noelvis Entenza, will be the starters of the #Alazanes and #Crocodiles this Sunday, at the opening of the 61 National Baseball Series. This was confirmed to #RadioRebelde by mentors Carlos Martí and Armando Ferrer. https://t.co/IBS1so8pYK

For the Crocodiles of Matanzas, the person in charge of starting the match will be the right-hander Noelvis Entenza, who last season reached his 100th victory for life against the Orientals during the final held at the Jose Antonio Huelga, in addition to giving him a no hits no runs in the Bayamese stadium itself.

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The national champions, for their part, will send to the mound the right-hander from Campechuela, César García, a member of the Cuba team that participated in the third Caribbean Cup in Curaçao, while last season he left an income of seven successes and four defeats with an ERA of 3.57.

Other news coming from the Cuban East indicates that Yumurino third baseman Yurisbel Gracial will not be present on Sunday, according to information provided by the director of the Crocodiles Armando Ferrer to journalist John Vila Acosta.

Gracial, as part of his new contract with the Japanese team Halcones de Softbank, must leave on January 26 to join the preseason of the team that also includes Alfredo Despaigne and reliever from Pinar del Rio Livan Moinelo. The man from Matanzas would be the third baseman and fourth baseman of the Japanese team whose main purpose is to recover the crown.

The runner-up team nnational It will also arrive in the city of Bayamo without the presence of many of its main pitchers Dariel Gongora, Jonder Martínez, Renner Rivero and Yanmichel Pérez because these would be the starting pitchers against the Cienfuegos squad at its Victoria de Girón headquarters.