Playoffs Races, Junio 11
The Hurricanes have not given up; Sancti Spíritus is still on a roll; more notes
Although the rain tried to become the protagonist this Tuesday, there was interesting news about the contenders who still have aspirations of reaching the postseason. So, let's go with our diary of challenges towards the playoffs, answering some questions.
Can the Hurricanes still be contenders?
If you read my column from last Tuesday here, the conversation about the Hurricanes' qualifying chances won't surprise you. This is what I wrote a week ago:
The case of Mayabeque: I am not dismissing the possibility of Mayabeque, because we know that in baseball nothing is set in stone. However, the road for the Hurricanes is quite difficult and their reaction has been late: they have to play against Villa Clara at home, and they end up as visitors in Ciego de Ávila and Matanzas. Both Villa Clara, Sancti Spíritus and Mayabeque will need a combination of at least 10-3 or 9-4 in their last 13 games to hope for a playoff berth.
Last week, Villa Clara had the chance to advance and stay in the qualifying zone, but they lost the series 3-2 against the Hurricanes. After the Gallos, who have an active streak of six consecutive wins, Mayabeque (they have seven wins in their last 10 games) has been the most consistent team among those fighting for the last place in the playoffs. With the 7-2 success against the Tigres this Tuesday, the Hurricanes (32-36) moved within two games of Sancti Spíritus (34-34), who occupy eighth place in the standings.
In a possible tie against Sancti Spíritus or Villa Clara, Mayabeque would have an advantage for having won the series 3-2 this campaign. As I wrote before, the odds that the Hurricanes could become contenders were low for one simple reason: they ended up playing five games visiting the Tigres and three in Matanzas. We'll see what happens this week.
Countdown to Villa Clara
The Leopards began this week with a 31-36 record, moving dangerously away from the qualifying zone. So they have no choice if they want to maintain their hopes of returning to the postseason: they need to sweep the Cienfuegos Elephants, and then win at least two games against the Holguín Cubs. After losing the series (3-2) last week against Mayabeque, Villa Clara achieved an agonizing success 3-2 this Tuesday against Cienfuegos. Three runs on offense were enough for the Leopards with the great work of reliever Dayron Casanova.
The Elephants threatened to tie the game at the start of the fourth inning. With two outs, Casanova came on to relieve starter Omar David Pérez and pitched a dominant 5 ⅓ innings of scoreless relief. Cienfuegos hitters went 0-for-16 against his pitches. That extensive dominance by Casanova ended up being the key to the game, since Villa Clara's offense did not score again from the third inning onwards and left nine runners on base. Once again, poor offense was the negative turning point, although the Leopards ultimately took the win.
Doubleheader Alerts
We will have two doubleheaders tomorrow, Wednesday: Las Tunas vs Artemisa at the Julio Antonio Mella stadium, and Guantánamo vs Isla de la Juventud at the Nelson Fernández stadium. Yes, it sounds strange, but it was the best solution found to avoid another delayed series due to problems transporting the teams by sea to Nueva Gerona. The Pirates have lost seven games in a row, and were recently outscored 59 runs to 3 in five games against the Alazanes de Granma. The Indians are 2 ½ behind the Roosters, considering they lost this year's series 1-4. In the other doubleheader, Artemisa will have the difficult challenge of facing Las Tunas.
The return of Adriel Labrada
Finally, I did not want to miss the great moment that Adriel Labrada is experiencing in his return with the Wasps. After spending a season outside of Cuba, Labrada resumed his career this year. He tried to establish himself in Japanese baseball, but was fired from the BCL (Baseball Challenge League). As the Wasps began to recover, rumors surfaced that Labrada had plans to return, and then the news became official.
Since his debut a couple of weeks ago against the Toros, Labrada has been the team's most valuable player. In just 32 plate appearances, he is slashing .556/.625/1.000/1.625, with three home runs and 13 RBIs. He has played four positions (first base, second base, third base and left field) and has not made an error in 34 chances. The inspiration of having Labrada in the lineup has been key for the Wasps in this final stretch of the season. This Tuesday, Labrada led the 11-1 knockout that the Wasps gave to Industriales at the Latinoamericano stadium. He went 2-for-4, including a double, three-run homer (which put away the game in the fourth inning) and drove in five of the team's 11 runs.
After the loss of Yoel Yanqui, the return of Adriel Labrada has been key for the Avispas de Santiago de Cuba, one of the contending teams that will be difficult to beat in the postseason.
