Postseason: An unexpected end
Many things happened this Wednesday afternoon during Game 1 of the Semifinal between Industriales vs Pinar del Río, a classic playoff duel: there was practically a no-hitter from the Vegueros bullpen, three plays that did not end as the coach expected of third from Industriales*, and the Pinar del Río hitters barely had any missed swings (they made contact in 123 of their 128 swings).
*There is something super curious that I remembered when Cuellar seemed upset after waving his right arm and seeing how two runners were thrown out at the plate: He is probably the only player who participated in playoff games as an outfielder and pinch runner wearing the Industriales suit (1987 and 1996) and Pinar del Río (1993). With the Blues, Cuellar went 0-for-9 in two playoffs, and his only hit was against Pinar del Río, when he went 1-for-10 in 1993.
Still, they scored just two runs in the first eight innings, leaving nine runners on base. But the most unexpected was definitely the end of the game, as it ended with a batter hit by the walk off pitch.
In more than 25 years of following baseball, I'm sure I've seen several hit by the walk-off pitch, but there's one I'll never forget.
I was 12 years old.
It was a game at the Latinoamericano stadium. Industriales faced Sancti Spíritus and, obviously, had the bases loaded. Lázaro Vargas was announced to come to the plate against right-hander Ángel Peña. That 2002 game (in the regular season) aroused great expectations, because it was the first in which Yulieski Gurriel and Kendrys Morales faced each other as rookies in the National Series. It was a cold night on offense for both: Yuli Gurriel went 0-for-5 and made a costly throwing error during the bottom of the tenth inning. Kendrys went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts against supersonic right-hander Maels Rodríguez.
The decision came in that tenth inning. “Enriquito” Díaz opened the inning with a double, Yasser Gómez reached base with a single at third and Yuli Gurriel made an error throwing to first, allowing the runners to advance to third and second. Then Kendrys Morales received an intentional walk, and finally Ángel Peña hit Vargas with the bases loaded. I remember that Vargas raised the bat and looked toward the sky, as a sign that he had decided the game even though he felt pain from being hit.
This time the protagonist of the story of pain and glory is Yasiel Agete, who was called up as a pinch-hitter by Lázaro Benítez. There was nothing to wait. Industriales reliever Carlos Manuel Cuesta hit Agete with his first pitch and the game ended.
I don't remember another playoff game that ended by a batter hit by pitch, but I promise to do a search, because we've probably seen the first one.
Semifinal Game 1: Industriales 3, Pinar del Río 4
Key moment
The ninth inning of the game, when the Vegueros de Pinar del Río lost 3-2.
Pinch-hitter Lázaro Emilio Blanco opened the inning with a single to center against right-hander Rafael Orlando Perdomo. Pinar del Río played to find the tie. After leadoff Juan Carlos Arencibia fouled out on his first attempt, Vegueros manager Alexander Urquiola called time and approached the plate to offer some instructions. The play could be expected.
It was reasonable for Urquiola to ask Arencibia for an effective sacrifice bunt to advance runner Mario Sánchez, who ran for Blanco at first. Arencibia achieved the sacrifice bunt and the runner was placed in scoring position. Alexei Ramírez grounded out to short stop, and Sánchez arrived safely at third.
There were two outs.
Industriales' next strategic move was taken for granted: an intentional walk for William Saavedra. With runners on the corners and two outs, one of the key situations of the game occurred. Perdomo fell behind in the count (2-1) and Rojas hit a line single to center field that tied the score 3-3.
William Saavedra came to second and Urquiola was presented with a difficult decision: Was it time to send a pinch runner for Saavedra? A change to look for more speed seemed reasonable, but Urquiola took a risk and gave confidence to Saavedra. He also thought about keeping him available in case the game went to extra innings.
Sometimes fans don't understand that the game is about decisions, and then managers are hated or revered depending on the outcome. And so it was, once again: Yasser Julio González hit a single to left, and Roque Tomás' shot missed slightly. There were many anxious fans who stood up, complaining about Saavedra's run. For a few seconds, the idea was inescapable that, with a pinch-runner, Pinar del Río would have won the game after Yasser Julio González's single.
This is how you live the passion of baseball!
However, the pessimism that for seconds seemed to take over the “greenfoot” fans, turned into an endless ovation. Reliever Carlos Manuel Cuesta took the mound at the Capitán San Luis stadium to try to put out the fire, but hit pinch-hitter Yasiel Agete with his first pitch and, surprisingly, the Vegueros took the victory in Game 1.
MVP of the Game
Left-handed reliever Randy Román Martínez, who stood out in the regular season as one of the candidates for rookie of the year. Randy entered the game to relieve starter Mario Valle as early as the third inning, with a runner on first. Valle pitched two innings, faced 11 opponents and eight of them reached base. Yes, eight, but he was helped by three shots that neutralized the Industriales between the bases.
So, basically, let's say that Valle retired three batters for part of his effort: (1) Ángel Alfredo Hechevarría, who hit a liner out to right field in the first inning. (2) he struck out Oscar Valdés, his best out in the short-lived start he had and; (3) He put out Roberto Álvarez, who lined out to second.
When Randy entered the game, several Industriales hitters had registered solid hits and were 4 for 7 with runners in scoring position against Valle pitches. The challenge for Randy seemed complicated, since he came in to pitch with a runner on first against the “3-4-5” batch of Industriales: Yasiel Santoya, Yasmany Tomás and Oscar Valdés.
To his credit, Urquiola's strategy once again made sense: Industriales was 13th in batting average (.271) against left-handed pitchers during the regular season. The Blues tried to make up for that poor average with the fourth-highest walk rate (13.2%), but Randy Román Martínez's control and curveball surpassed them. To start, Randy struck out Santoya—Hechevarría stole second—and then repeated the dose against Tomás. The third out was Oscar Valdés, who ended up grounding out to shortstop.
Beginning with that scoreless first inning, Randy retired 14 batters in a row, including six strikeouts. The Blues' offense had a flash when Roberto Álvarez hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh, and Urquiola quickly activated his bullpen. With two outs, Randy's last opponent was Alberto Calderón, who walked a five-pitch at-bat.
The containment work was done. Randy Román Martínez had secured 4 ⅔ innings where the Industriales went 1 for 15 with six strikeouts. That was the effectiveness of the bullpen that the Vegueros needed after the quick explosion of starter Mario Valle. The rest of the way was taken care of by left-handed Raudel Lazo, who closed the seventh inning by striking out Roberto Acevedo, the first of seven consecutive outs. Lazo held the Blues scoreless for the final two innings of the game, and the best bullpen of the day took the honors.
Turning points to consider
—The effectiveness of left-handed relievers Randy Román Martínez and Raudel Lazo was decisive for Pinar del Río's success in Game 1: with 90 pitches combined, they covered seven of the nine innings of the game. They left the Industriales offense 1-for-22 with eight strikeouts and one walk.
—Pinar del Río's defensive work prevented the Blues from progressing on the bases. Before getting to the pair of unusual outs at home plate that influenced Industriales' defeat, I would like to give credit to the Pinar del Río infielders. Sometimes defensive statistics can be a bit cruel, especially with infield players who struggle daily to field on Cuba's uneven baseball fields. Like every year, when the season ends, I will present my Golden Gloves selection, but I want to give you a preview: shortstop Tailon Sánchez and second baseman Rolando Martínez are almost certain to be big winners.
Forget about fielding average for a second: Hitters produced less than a .275 average when hitting ground balls, while Tailon Sánchez and Rolando Martínez covered the middle of the infield. Today we saw a play that can only be appreciated when there are two defenders whose reach exceeds, at least today, the range factor of the Infielders in the Cuban National Series.
Remember Yasiel Santoya's ground ball in the first inning? With 15 of the 16 short and second combinations this season the ground ball would have crossed the infield. Not with Tailon and Rolando. In fact, both collided while trying to catch the ground ball. Tailon managed to catch him, and was seconds away from putting out Roberto Acevedo at third. Yasiel Santoya thought the ground ball would pass, and perhaps Industriales' inning would have been more productive.
In the game there were three other key plays that cut off possible Industriales rallies: two outs at home plate and one at third, a complete fatality in terms of probability of success. It is true that the Blues' third base coach, Juan Francisco Cuellar, risked too much in two plays with little margin for error: the two outs at home plate in the second inning.
First when center fielder Luis Pablo Acosta's throw served to get Alfredo Rodríguez out at home after Calderón's single. And, after two outs, left fielder Lázaro Benítez's throw, which put Calderón out at the plate. Neither runner was able to escape. But Tomás' daring run to third in the first inning was worse. And, unfortunately for the Blues, catcher Jorge Yoán Rojas moved quickly and threw to third.
—Industriales' pitching should not undervalue the lower part of Pinar del Río's lineup. Once again, Tailon Sánchez reached base, and scored two runs. Rolando Martínez hit a sacrifice fly, and leadoff Juan Carlos Arencibia drove in Tailon with a single in the bottom of the second inning. On a day when Alexei Ramírez was dominated 1-for-5, the rest of the lineup was able to produce the runs that helped lead to success.
—“Winning line up is not changed,” was a familiar phrase that we used to hear in times when statistical analysis or sabermetrics were far from being seen as a tool for managers in Cuban baseball. Times have changed a bit. But even without delving into the analysis, baseball remains the same: the first three batters are the ones who will have the most plate appearances. Industriales is failing one of those at-bats, the second: Ángel Alfredo Hechevarría has demonstrated offensive skills that exceed the league average, but he is 3-for-25 in his last 28 trips to the plate.
In that streak, he is 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. If he doesn't get on base with regularity, Yasiel Santoya, Yasmany Tomás and Oscar Valdés will be down for hundreds of plate appearances with runners on base. You don't need to take classes with Bill James to realize that. I understand that managers have confidence in their players and, obviously, that leads them to continue waiting for them to respond. But Hechevarría's slump also carries a bit of additional pressure because he is playing in left field, a completely new position in his short experience of two National Series.
—In any case, Industriales' problem in Game 1 was not just Hechevarría's: the batch from the second to fifth hitters ended 1-for-13 with five strikeouts, and they left seven of the nine runners the team registered on base. While Pinar del Río hitters made contact on 96% of the 128 pitches they swung at, Industriales returned a rate of 87%. In terms of swing and misses: Pinar del Río, 3.7%. Industriales? 13.4%. Pinar del Río scored only four runs, and that seems like a miracle, when the contact rates show us the ability of a practically unstoppable team.
One key stat you should know: Industriales didn't get any offensive heat, but Andy Vargas' 6 ⅔ innings, two-run start allowed Industriales' sixth quality pitching outing in eight starts during these playoffs. In Game 1, Industriales made no errors—at least those recorded in the Box Score—and the pitching controlled Pinar del Río until the agonizing ninth inning. So, you know where the problem was.
Box Score
INDUSTRIALES (3) AT PINAR DEL RíO (4)
INDUSTRIALES AB R H BI PINAR DEL RíO AB R H BI
Roberto Acevedo 4 1 2 0 Juan C. Arencibia 4 0 1 1
Angel A. Hechevarria 2 0 0 0 Alexei Ramirez 5 0 1 0
Roque Tomas 1 0 0 0 William Saavedra 4 1 2 0
Yasiel Santoya 4 1 1 0 Jorge Yoan Rojas 4 0 2 1
Yasmany Tomás 3 0 0 0 Yaser Julio Gonzalez 4 0 1 0
Oscar Valdes 4 0 0 0 Lazaro Benitez 4 0 0 0
Dayron Miranda 4 0 1 2 Yasiel Agete 0 0 0 1
Alfredo Rodriguez 4 0 1 0 Tailon Sanchez 2 2 1 0
Roberto Alvarez 3 1 1 1 Luis Pablo Acosta 3 0 0 0
Alberto Calderon 2 0 1 0 Rolando Martinez 2 0 0 1
Lazaro E. Blanco 1 0 1 0
*Mario Sanchez 0 1 0 0
TOTALS 31 3 7 3 TOTALS 33 4 9 4
INDUSTRIALES 200 000 100 -- 3
PINAR DEL RíO 010 100 002 -- 4
LOB--INDUSTRIALES 4, PINAR DEL RíO 12. 2B--Alfredo
Rodriguez, William Saavedra, Tailon Sanchez. HR--Roberto
Alvarez. HBP--Yasiel Agete, Luis Pablo Acosta, Tailon
Sanchez. SACF--Rolando Martinez. SACB--Juan C. Arencibia.
SB--Angel A. Hechevarria, Roberto Acevedo.
INDUSTRIALES IP H R ER BB SO HR
Andy Vargas 6 2/3 6 2 2 2 2 0
Rafael Perdomo (L) 2.0 3 2 2 2 0 0
Carlos Cuesta 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PINAR DEL RíO
Mario Valle 2.0 6 2 2 2 1 0
Randy Martinez 4 2/3 1 1 1 1 6 1
Raudel Lazo (W) 2 1/3 0 0 0 0 2 0
SO--Angel A. Hechevarria, Yasiel Santoya (2), Roque Tomas,
Dayron Miranda, Oscar Valdes, Roberto Acevedo (2), Yasmany
Tomás, Jorge Yoan Rojas, Rolando Martinez. BB--Angel A.
Hechevarria, Alberto Calderon, Yasmany Tomás, William
Saavedra, Jorge Yoan Rojas, Tailon Sanchez, Yaser Julio
Gonzalez.
Scores
Top 1st
Dayron Miranda singles on a line drive to left field. Roberto Acevedo scores, Yasiel Santoya scores, Yasmany Tomás was thrown out at third.
IND 1, PRI 0
Bottom 2nd
Juan Carlos Arencibia singles on a ground ball to center fielder. Tailon Sánchez scores, Luis Pablo Acosta to 2nd.
IND 2, PRI 1
Bottom 4th
Rolando Martínez out on a sacrifice fly to center field. Tailon Sánchez scores.
IND 2, PRI 2
Top 7th
Roberto Álvarez homers on a fly ball to right field.
IND 3, PRI 2
Bottom 9th
Jorge Yoán Rojas singles on a line drive to center fielder. Mario Sánchez scores. William Saavedra to 2nd.
IND 3, PRI 3
Yasiel Agete hit by pitch. William Saavedra scores. Jorge Yoán Rojas to 3rd. Yasser Julio González to 2nd.
IND 3, PRI 4
