Blessed are the Sundays
With a 10-5 lead, six outs away from winning the series against the Vegueros de Pinar del Río, it seemed logical that the manager of the Mayabeque Hurricanes, Michael González, activated the bullpen for the end of the eighth inning.
José Ignacio Bermúdez had pitched a seven-inning start where he allowed 10 hits and five runs. Bermúdez was not effective, but he once again offered durability and delivered the game with a five-run advantage. The left-handed right fielder, Lázaro Emilio Blanco, was on duty to open the sixth, seventh and eighth batting round for the Vegueros. So another left-hander, reliever Mario Batista, was the appropriate pitcher for the situation.
Instead, Pinar del Río pinch-hit Mario Sánchez, a right-handed hitter. And here I stop for a minute, because I think it is valid to give credit to the work of manager Alexander Urquiola and his management team. Losing by five runs, with the short end opening the eighth inning against the Hurricanes bullpen, Urquiola's strategies showed that the Vegueros never give up. Although veteran Lázaro Emilio Blanco is a left-handed hitter, he may well have been an option to face left-handed reliever Batista. However, Urquiola gave more weight to the odds: Blanco had missed 8 of his 10 times at bat against left-handed pitching.
When a manager is down by five runs but still has hope of winning, the team dynamic works in a different way. The other turning point to consider is that left-handed hitters have averaged a .472 OPS against Batista this season, a notable difference compared to the right-handers' .946 OPS. It was worth the risk. With five runs down, Pinar del Río was looking to get runners on base. Urquiola never gave up the game, and that is what the Vegueros have done throughout history: fight until the end. They never give up.
Sometimes these types of key decisions are undervalued and, at the end of the day, those are the game situations that define part of the destiny of managers and teams. Sánchez had been 0-for-5 as a pinch-hitter, but managed to walk against Batista. Duvier Pena replaced Batista, and the Vegueros' comeback began. Pena also exploded: he allowed an RBI double by Yasser Julio González, and then Luis Pablo Acosta reached base on an error by first baseman Yasniel González.
With two runners in circulation, Michael González did not wait any longer and sent his main reliever, right-hander Adrián Sosa, to the mound. Rolando Martínez's single made the score 10-6. Then there was a force-out at second with a grounder by Juan Carlos Arencibia, and the bases were loaded again after a walk from Sosa to Alexei Ramírez. With William Saavedra entering the batter's box, the danger was imminent.
The Hurricanes still had a 10-7 lead, but the Vegueros managed to combine the at-bats they needed. All year long, the center-hitting core of the Vegueros lineup has been as productive as it is inspiring: the trio of Alexei Ramírez, William Saavedra and Yasser Julio González has stolen all the headlines, but this Sunday the Vegueros once again show that they can count on more protagonists.
The result is not only due to performance: Pinar del Río has been one of the most cohesive and fighting teams of the season. This Sunday's game at the Nelson Fernández stadium was another example of what these Vegueros can achieve. Saavedra hit a sacrifice fly that closed the score at 10-8, and catcher Jorge Yoán Rojas continued the offensive attack by hitting a three-point home run to completely turn the score around.
Pinar del Río 11, Mayabeque 10. Yes, the inning that began apparently calmly, where the Hurricanes had a 10-5 lead, ended with a sensational three-run home run. For Rojas it was his ninth homer of the season, and he had 46 RBIs. But the big story here is that Rojas once again demonstrated his ability as a hitter to produce in clutch situations. In fact, 26% of his RBIs this year have provided a tie or lead for Pinar del Río. The only two hitters on the team with more RBIs from the tie or the lead on the scoreboard have been Yasser Julio González (18) and William Saavedra (14).
In addition to consistent offensive production under pressure, Rojas has recorded the fifth-highest slugging percentage (.632) against right-handed pitchers, and the fourth-highest extra-base hit frequency at 7.3. Rojas' offensive contribution has been decisive for Pinar del Río's success, excelling in a key position in the game.
At the beginning of the ninth, left-hander Gabriel Cantero maintained the lead 11-10 and recorded his second saved game in this 63rd National Series. Pinar del Río (38-19) continues to lead the league, and there are two aspects where no opponent has been able to catch up:
—They have won 12 consecutive series this year.
—They have a 12-0 record on Sundays. Yes, it's not a mistake: every Sunday they have been overwhelming. How can we explain it? What trend has allowed this surprising streak? These have been some of the keys:
To begin, you should know that no team in the history of the National Series has finished an undefeated season playing on Sundays. It is also not a record that is followed up every year, but in this 63rd National Series it makes sense, because the teams are facing each other five times a week. The best annual record belongs to the Villa Clara team that played for a 15-1 record in the 1982-1983 season. If the regular season schedule does not change, Pinar del Río would have three Sundays left to play.
The opponents will be Guantánamo, Granma (at home) and Artemisa. In addition to Sundays, I have been doing deeper research to find out who the best teams have been for days in a season. Now we just have to wait and see if Pinar del Río can maintain its impressive streak, dominating the teams of this 63rd National Series especially on Sundays.
Here are five keys that have defined the active streak of 12-0:
Jorge Yoán Rojas' swing
Rojas was not only the hero this Sunday with a three-run home run against Mayabeque, he has also been the most consistent hitter. Within the current streak, he leads in hits (19), doubles (6), home runs (4), extra bases (10), total bases (37) and RBIs (18). His influence as a catcher is another important point in the Vegueros' formula for success, guiding several inexperienced pitchers. Of course, with just one player performing it is almost impossible to win 12 games in a row any day of the week, but Rojas' contribution has been impactful in Pinar del Río's offense.
The combination of power and clutch hitting
Los Vegueros have hit .360 in their 12 Sunday games this season, but here comes the most astonishing note of the offense: 13 of the 17 hitters that manager Alexander has used Urquiola are hitting at least .310, nine at least .350, and six above .400. There are also seven hitters who have combined to hit 16 home runs, led by Jorge Yoán Rojas (4) and Yasser Julio González (4).
Pinar del Río has averaged 9.0 runs per game, 12.8 hits and 3.8 extra bases. Enough? Not yet! We have the best part left: clutch hitting. The productivity with runners in scoring position has been unstoppable. In the 12 games of the streak, the team has averaged 17.5 plate appearances with runners in scoring position.
That ratio has been basically 43% of the 493 total plate appearances during the 12-game winning streak on Sundays, which shows a high rate of opportunity. Of course, not everything translates into effectiveness, but the case of these Vegueros has been unthinkable: they are averaging .338 with runners in scoring position. Half of the hitters (8 of 16) hit at least .333. Tailon Sánchez and Jorge Yoán Rojas lead the team in that period with 10 runners driven in from scoring position, but Lázaro Emilio Blanco's adjustment against right-handed pitchers is unmatched: he has RBI 7 of 9, for an average of .778.
The lead off of the Vegueros, Juan Carlos Arencibia, has done his job of getting on base and scoring runs. Arencibia has hit .404 in the 12 Sundays he has played, with 14 hits and 16 runs scored. He also has the team's only two stolen bases in 12 attempts.
The bullpen
The relievers have won seven of 12 games. So many decisions don't always fit the concept of “effectiveness,” as relievers often waste leads on the scoreboard. That has been part of the story of Orisbel Borges, who has a 2-0 record and three saves, but an ERA of 4.32. In any case, Borges has managed to recover, and together with Yancarlos García they have formed an effective duo in the bullpen. García is 3-0 on Sundays, with a 0.87 ERA, and his 39 opponents have hit just .152. Borges and García have been the two main pieces of the bullpen in this current streak for Pinar del Río, along with Mario Luis Del Hoyo and Gabriel Cantero, who have also contributed.
Pinar del Río's most significant performance playing on Sundays was 7-1, under the command of Alfonso Urquiola in the 59th National Series. Now, five years later, his son Alexander Urquiola is leading the Vegueros on another winning streak. The difference is that, even if the streak ends, the Vegueros are already on their way to the promised land.
