It's getting late to react

If it weren't for the inclement weather, we would have had two games this Sunday in the II Liga Elite postseason, but the Industriales-Artemisa duel was sealed due to rain at the 26 de Julio stadium. As reported in an official note from the organizers, the resumption is expected to be this Monday at 11:30 AM. The Artemisa Hunters had a large 7-1 lead at the end of the fourth inning and left the bases loaded with no outs. In the other playoff, you must have already heard the news: The Crocodiles devoured the Lumberjacks for the second consecutive day. Although the final score revealed another large lead for Matanzas, the story of Game 2 had a different rhythm.

Let's go to the key points:

Matanzas 10, Las Tunas 2

Rhythm. That could be the explanation for why sometimes there are teams that cannot reach their maximum performance during a playoff series, especially in their first matchup. Last year, I think that was the main reason why the powerful Matanzas lineup couldn't react in time against the Las Tunas pitchers in the Semifinal of the 62nd Cuban National Series. They lacked momentum from several of their key hitters and, of course, the dominance of the Lumberjacks' pitchers was decisive.

Another factor that undoubtedly also influenced in favor of the pitchers was the poor bounce of the ball (Teammate). In six games of the Matanzas-Las Tunas Semifinal, just four home runs were hit in 450 combined plate appearances. Where was the difference in the success of each lineup? Yes, the productivity of the Las Tunas Lumberjacks, who averaged .315 with runners in scoring position. And the Matanzas team? A disappointing .172, leaving 53 of the 64 runners who reached scoring position on base.

Unlike that poor performance, the Crocodiles team has exceeded expectations. The offensive production has been devastating against Las Tunas' pitching: in these first two games of the Semifinal, they have scored 22 runs, with 27 hits and eight extra bases. Six of those eight extra-base hits have been home runs, just one shy of the seven they recorded during the final two weeks of the regular season. On the other hand, Las Tunas' batting has not been able to find its rhythm. They are hitting .063 in clutch situations, and 12 of the 16 batters who have started the inning have been outs. That entire offensive equation has equaled… two runs?