Game 5: Dynasty
The Lumberjacks of Las Tunas did not give up: they won 4-1 vs. Pinar del Río of the river. It is the third crown they have won in the last six seasons.
Six. Yes, I think that was the key number in Game 5 of the Final between the Vegueros of Pinar del Río and the Leñadores of Las Tunas.
In the first three innings of the game, the Vegueros left six runners on base. They hit 7-for-14 — yes, .500! — against the Leñadores' starter, 19-year-old rookie Yadier Zamora, but failed to score runs. With just two singles in the second inning, Las Tunas opened ahead on the scoreboard 1-0.
Héctor Castillo drove in that first run of the game with two outs, but left-hander Branlis Rodríguez dominated his next seven opponents in a row. The Leñadores reached the bottom of the fifth inning with just two hits and left the bases loaded. However, Pinar del Río still did not support Branlis. In the top of the fifth they tied the score with a double by Alexei Ramírez, and then Wilian Saavedra, Yasser Julio González and Tailon Sánchez were neutralized by reliever Rodolfo Díaz.
The great opportunity that the Vegueros missed was never repeated. They left 11 runners on base: two on first, six on second and three on third. Even so, the timely reliefs of right-hander Jenier Álvarez (he dominated Jeans Lucas Baldoquín to close the sixth inning with a runner on second) and left-hander Raudel Lazo prevented the Leñadores from breaking the 1-1 tie on the scoreboard.
Lazo made his debut in this Final by striking out Yuniesky Larduet. He then walked Roberto Súlivan Baldoquín, but closed the seventh inning by striking out Yosvany Alarcón with runners on first and second.
After seven innings of offense, the Vegueros had recorded 11 hits, but had scored only one run. That offensive inability, which had a flash of brilliance in Game 4, added pressure on the relievers against a lineup of hitters that were on the verge of crushing pitches. And so it happened, once again. The Vegueros went scoreless in the top of the eighth, and then the Leñadores began their climb to the throne.
Rafael Viñales opened the eighth with a ground ball single that bounced off the third base and continued its journey to left field. Denis Peña, who was trailing a 13-0 slump, hit a ground ball to short. Tailon Sánchez fielded and threw to second quickly, trying to start a double play, but second baseman Rolando Martínez could not control the ball.
That little slip by Martínez gave Peña life, and then Yordanis Alarcón hit a line single to right that sent Peña to third. With runners on first and third, another key moment of the Game arrived.
Lazo looked for the outside corner with a fast ball high and outside, but Jeans Lucas Baldoquín only headed. At a 1-0 count, Lazo prepared his main weapon, the curveball, but this time he left the pitch in a vulnerable command. The ball rotated toward the center of the strike zone. And, unlike Alarcón and Larduet, Jeans Lucas hit the pitch with an uppercut swing and unleashed a thunderous home run that brought the Leñadores fans to their feet.
The ball looked like it wasn't going to fall and, in fact, at first I couldn't make out where it landed. The home run soared into the woodwork behind left field at Julio Antonio Mella Stadium.
The score was nominally only 4-1, a three-run deficit that the Vegueros became accustomed to pulverizing during the regular season. But really the impact of the home run was insurmountable for any team trying to dream of a comeback after falling behind 3-1 in the Final. The game was simply decided. And, to be honest, after so much inconsistency and a 1-1 draw in seven full innings, the only thing left was for one of the two teams to hit the big shot.
The Vegueros lineup had 11 hits and scored just one run.
In the history of the Cuban baseball postseason, only one team has been able to win 1-0 with 11 hits. It was the Tigres de Ciego de Ávila against Villa Clara in Game 7 of the Quarterfinal series in 2011. That afternoon Vladimir García defeated Freddy Asiel Álvarez for the first time in a playoff game.
The Leñadores de Las Tunas added two runs in the bottom of the eighth thanks to a single by Yuniesky Larduet, but Jeans Lucas Baldoquín's home run had been enough to sentence the Vegueros. The Vegueros of Pinar del Río tried to come back, and in the end they lost with their main reliever of this postseason.
Before leading off the bottom of the eighth inning and allowing Baldoquín's home run, Lazo had starred in six almost perfect reliefs. He won a game (against Industriales) and made three saves. He had thrown nine scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, only one walk and allowed five hits, all singles.
The other key performance of the Leñadores was the relief of Rodolfo Díaz, who seems to have been somewhat overshadowed by the offensive attack at the end of the game. Díaz allowed one earned run in five innings and walked none.*
*Probably if left fielder Denis Peña had reacted faster when he collected Alexei Ramírez's double to left field, Juan Carlos Arencibia would not have scored from first.
Throughout the year, Díaz led the Leñadores' rotation with 38 reliefs, 14 saves and 99 ⅓ innings pitched—including the postseason. He finished 4-5 with a 3.08 ERA in a highly offensive league. In the postseason, Díaz averaged 3 ⅓ innings per game relieved and posted a 1.91 ERA. His arm strength was instrumental in balancing bullpen responsibilities alongside starting closer Alberto Pablo Civil (he went 1-0 with three saves and allowed no earned runs in the playoffs).
The starts of Eliander Bravo in Game 1 and Alejandro Meneses in Game 3 offered durability to not overload the bullpen, and the offense was once again the team's main potential. Denis Peña was the hero of Game 1 with a home run and three RBIs—although he finished with an 0-for-14 slump. Yosvany Alarcón hit the key double with the bases loaded in the tenth inning of Game 2.
Yunieski Larduet scored three of the team's five runs in Game 3, and Roberto Súlivan Baldoquín hit 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI. In the decisive Game 5, Héctor Castillo had been the most valuable player of the Leñadores (he hit 3-for-3 with a double, a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base), until Jeans Lucas Baldoquín came to the plate and crushed Raudel Lazo's curveball on a 1-0 count.
Before the call of play ball was heard on Sunday afternoon to start Game 5 of the Final, the Las Tunas Leñadores had recorded 38 victories in 59 postseason games since 2019. In that period they continue to be the team with the highest percentage of victories (64%), but they had won their two titles (2019 vs Villa Clara and 2023 vs Industriales) away from home.
That story changed in the discussion of the national title against the Vegueros of Pinar del Río. The Leñadores won Games 1 and 2 for the third consecutive Final. This year those first two successes were on the road, which inspired the team to try to be crowned champions and celebrate the victory in front of their loyal fans at home. After eliminating the Alazanes de Granma in five games during the Semifinal, the Leñadores defended their crown and defeated the Vegueros de Pinar del Río, who were the absolute leaders in the regular season.
The Alazanes de Granma had been the last team to win two consecutive seasons, when they were crowned in the 60th and 61st National Series, respectively. But now the new dynasty of Cuban baseball is that of the Leñadores de Las Tunas, who have won three of the last six seasons: 2019, 2023 and 2024.
