One day at a time

I hope you have a great week. I wanted to dedicate a few words to the impressive dominance of Cuban Raisel Iglesias, who began last Sunday night with a 1.16 ERA in 58 appearances as the Atlanta Braves closer this year. But the best part of all is the story that Iglesias has been the protagonist of the last 89 days. This looks to be another great week for MLB as the end of the regular season approaches. Also, as promised, I will be writing some columns on Cuban baseball, answering questions from “bold readers.” I hope you enjoy it. Here we go!

Raisel Iglesias seemed to be back in control of the situation.

The Dodgers were looking to break a 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth inning against the Braves, while Iglesias tried to ride another challenging battle to success. It's mid-September, but the Dodgers vs. Braves series revived the classic postseason scenario we've seen before.

Will Smith had whipped a 98 mph fastball on the first pitch and hit a triple after one out. The fly ball deep in right field at Truist Park prompted a review by the umpires. But then Iglesias got fellow countryman Andy Pages to ground out with a slider on the first pitch.

Two outs.

Pages hit a grounder just 65 mph that was controlled by Raisel. Smith couldn't move from third. The inning, for a moment, seemed to return to calm. One of those innings that Cuban Raisel Iglesias has dominated without incident during this season with the Atlanta Braves.

Iglesias intentionally walked Shohei Ohtani to face Mookie Betts, an absolutely reasonable decision. After a ball, Betts hit a foul ball against a 96 mph fastball. Iglesias was feeling good about his velocity, he was touching 98 mph, and he pulled the trigger again. This time Mookie anticipated it and delivered the key hit. Iglesias threw a 97 mph fastball, but Mookie's swing cut with just enough balance and he hit an RBI single to center field.

The Dodgers took a 3-2 lead.

Betts' RBI single was the first hit allowed by Iglesias with runners on first and third and two outs since 2022. That sounds ridiculous. But that's just one episode of Iglesias' impressive dominance especially this season. Betts also snapped Iglesias' 30-game streak of at least one inning pitched without allowing an earned run. Iglesias had not allowed an earned run since Jose Siri hit a two-run homer on June 16 at Truist Park.