Postseason: When the unthinkable can be possible

We had four playoff games this Tuesday, and three of them were played at night. The Tigres de Ciego de Ávila starred in the great story of the day, tying the series 2-2 against the Leñadores de Las Tunas. Industriales avoided the sweep against Santiago de Cuba, and there will be Game 5. Los Alazanes will try to tie the playoffs on their visit to Matanzas, and Pinar del Río seems ready to finish off the Gallos de Sancti Spíritus.

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Game 4: Ciego de Ávila 10, Las Tunas 0

The series was tied 2-2

A 2-2 draw after the Las Tunas came out ahead 2-0? Did you think this wouldn't be possible? Welcome to postseason baseball!: The Tigres de Ciego de Ávila knocked out the Leñadores de Las Tunas 10-0 to tie the Quarterfinal series 2-2 this Tuesday in Game 4.

A day after delivering a 16-1 super knockout in Game 3 and breaking a streak of seven consecutive losses in the playoffs against the Leñadores, the Ciego de Ávila Tigers' offense remains unstoppable. For the fourth consecutive game the Tigers came out ahead on the scoreboard. The last two occasions, at the José Ramón Cepero stadium at home, have been starred by the swing of Héctor Labrada.

Labrada gave the Tigers the lead with a single in the bottom of the third inning in Game 3. This Tuesday in Game 4, he hit a solo home run against the Las Tunas' starter, right-hander Alejandro Meneses. Trailing 1-0, Las Tunas left two runners on base during the top of the third inning. They couldn't react. And, as happened last Monday, the Tigers' offense continued to produce: a double by Rubén Valdéz and a single by Osvaldo Vázquez made the score 4-0. History was repeating itself. Meneses exploded in the third inning, and the Leñadores bullpen was massacred again.

What seemed unlikely, happened: The Tigres de Ciego de Ávila have tied the Quarterfinal series 2-2 against the Leñadores de Las Tunas. Photo: Osvaldo Gutiérrez.

We can't really say that this result surprises us. Throughout the regular season, the Las Tunas' pitching was inconsistent. In fact, the pitching staff finished with the sixth highest OPS (.816) allowed, although this was the alarming point that was most concerning: Las Tunas pitchers were the second team that struck out the least against its opponents, throwing a rate of 3.7 K /9. The Tigers are taking advantage of that vulnerable point, and in just 12 innings on offense they have turned this playoffs around considerably: they have scored 26 runs in their last two games, with 31 hits, seven of them extra bases (four doubles and three home runs). In those 12 innings, the Tigers have reached 43 runners. This frequency indicates that just over 60% of runners on base have ended up scoring a run.

The Tigers' accumulation of quality at-bats has been so significant that 42 of their 80 plate appearances have come with runners in scoring position over the past two games. That's 53% of the time stalking pitchers with runners in circulation! And then you'll be surprised by the averages in those situations. Here you can check them:

Last two games

Empty bases batting average: 9-for-22, .409

Batting average with runners in scoring position: 16-for-34, .471

At that pace it's pretty difficult to contain a team, especially if they're putting the ball in play so often. Those averages, as you already know, have led to 26 runs for the Tigers, who delivered a super knockout in Game 3 and, this Tuesday, scored again without mercy until winning 10-0. Of the 11 batters who have recorded at least one plate appearance for the Tigres over the last two games, only three do not have multi hits:* Osmani Linares (1-for-4), Rubén Valdéz (1-for-3) and Jorge Luis Contreras (0-for-1). But now listen to this: Ten of 11 have at least one RBI!

*The hottest hitters have been Liosvany Pérez, Héctor Labrada and Ronald Castillo. Pérez is 7-for-6, with two doubles, four runs scored and five RBIs from six runners found in scoring position. Labrada is 4-for-8, with one home run, five RBIs (he has driven in four of the eight runners he has found in scoring position). And Castillo is 5-for-9 with a home run and three RBIs.

The only batter who has not driven in runs in the last two games is Osmani Linares, who precisely drove in the first run of this Quarterfinal series with a single in the seventh inning of Game 1.

If the Tigers bullpen had not blown the leads they had after the sixth inning in Games 1 and 2, the story of this series against the Leñadores would have been very different. Kevin Soto, who made two ineffective relief appearances against the Leñadores, took charge of starting Game 4. This time, Soto controlled the command of his pitches and was more consistent attacking the strike zone.

The Leñadores put the ball in play all afternoon. They had seven hits—all singles—while Soto struck out just two opponents. In baseball, obviously, we reward results. According to Soto's pitching line, he had a quality outing with seven scoreless innings (he allowed seven hits), two strikeouts and one walk. But here is the key in those 21 Soto outs: 15 were fly balls, 12 of them to the outfield, and three to the infield.

Soto pitched so much in the outside corner that no Las Tunas batter hit a fly out to left. Of the 12, six went to the center and six to the right. During the regular season, Leñadores hitters were the third team with the highest frequency of home runs per fly ball, including line drives (18.6). The Tigers' pitching was the eighth most allowed (23.1).

So, congratulations: It was great news for the Tigers that none of Las Tunas' 15 fly balls ended up being home runs. Anyone would think that a little luck accompanied Soto, if we appreciate the tendencies of the Leñadores. There are no statistics to say for sure, but baseball is such an unpredictable game that even the mystical makes a little sense.

Game 4: Industriales 5, Santiago de Cuba 1

Santiago de Cuba leads the series 3-1

Before this season, only two of 24 best-in-seven-game Quarterfinal playoffs had been decided by sweep: Ciego de Ávila vs. Guantánamo in 2010, and Las Tunas vs. Ciego de Ávila last year. Industriales avoided being the next team on that list after beating Santiago de Cuba 5-1 this Tuesday at the Latinoamericano stadium.

The Capital Blues decided Game 4 with a five-run rally in the first inning. Yasmany Tomás hit a three-run home run on the second pitch from right-hander Osvaldo Acuña, and the Lions came out ahead on the scoreboard for the first time this postseason. The attack continued with a single by Oscar Valdés that, unfortunately, hit Acuña in the face, who had to leave the game. Wilber Reyna relieved Acuña and allowed a single by rookie Dayron Miranda. He then dominated Alfredo Rodríguez in the fly ball to center and, with two outs, Roberto Álvarez completed the five-run rally by hitting a bases-clearing triple.

After opening with that big offensive hit, Industriales reached 16 runners, but was unable to score the rest of the game. Fourteen of them were on base after the first inning, and they allowed two double plays. Compared to the previous three games, the offense was again poor with runners on base:

Game 1: 4 runs, 9 on base, 6 left on bases

Game 2: 6 runs, 19 on base, 14 left on bases

Game 3: 4 runs, 13 on base, 10 left on bases

Game 4: 5 runs, 22 on base, 15 left on bases

Totals: 19 runs, 63 on base, 45 left on bases

Individual notes: Even after the victory, Yasiel Santoya (0-for-6), Yasmany Tomás (1-for-7) and Oscar Valdés (0-for-5) have stopped towing 17 of the 18 runners found in scoring position. Yamil Rivalta (0-for-7) and Alfredo Rodríguez (0-for-8) have recorded a 0-for-15 slump, and Roberto Álvarez is 1-for-12.

71% of runners who reached base on hits, walks, or were hit by pitches finished scoreless. It's pretty difficult for a team to win like that, especially when going through this defensive debacle: 10 errors in the first three games—a record of seven in Game 2—which cost eight runs. Poor hitting, unprecedented defensive chaos and the other turning point: the bullpen allowed 13 bases and eight runs in 5 ⅓ innings.

With a five-run lead, the ace of this Blues rotation, right-hander Andy Vargas, kept the Avispas offense under control. In seven innings of performance, he allowed one run, struck out four opponents and walked just two. Vargas had three keys that led him to his second quality outing in this postseason against the Santiago de Cuba lineup: (1) he got the first batter out in six of the seven innings he pitched and, (2) He limited 1-for-11 to the first four batters in the lineup until the end of the seventh, when leadoff Francisco Martínez hit an RBI double and was put out at third.

Those 10 outs include two strikeouts and a groundout to third by Adriel Labrada against the pitches of Andy Vargas, who combined his hit fastball with a slider and changeup. Every time a Santiago de Cuba batter reached base, Vargas dominated the next one. He did not allow the Avispas to rebel, and this time he received good support from the defense. After Andy left, the young right-hander Carlos Manuel Cuesta made an excellent relief. He retired all five batters he faced, with strikeouts against Labrada and Euclides Pérez, who were hitless all night. Leodán Reyes got the last out of the game, and the Lions will have one more breath of life.

Game 3: Granma 7, Matanzas 1

Matanzas leads the series 2-1

For the first time in five playoff series, the Cocodrilos de Matanzas had the great opportunity to take a 3-0 lead against the Alazanes de Granma, but it was not to be. Rookie Roilán Averohff threw three consecutive zeros, and the Alazanes attacked him with a three-run rally at the beginning of the fourth. Guillermo Avilés tied the game with a sacrifice fly, and then Alexquemer Sánchez hit a two-run home run that gave the Alazanes a 3-1 lead. On the other hand, the Crocodiles could not respond. They scored a run on Andrys Pérez's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third inning, and then the timely hit didn't come again.

The key to the Crocodiles' success in the first two games of this playoffs was offensive production. They won 7-1 in Game 1 with an excellent performance by Yoanis Yera, and the three-run rally to start the seventh helped the bullpen's work. Then, in Game 2, the three-run shot at the top of the ninth proved decisive as the Alazanes pulled within 5-4 at the bottom of the eighth. But this Tuesday in Game 4 the story was different. Matanzas left nine runners on base. The Alazanes starter, left-hander Yunier Castillo, walked five times, three of them between the fourth and fifth innings, and the Matanzas offense could not take advantage of his lack of control.

At the end of the fourth, Luis Ángel Sánchez took a walk with two outs. With a couple of runners in circulation, Aníbal Media singled to right, but Eduardo Blanco was put out at the plate by an excellent throw by right fielder Alexquemer Sánchez. Granma took a 4-1 lead with a double by Osvaldo Abreu at the beginning of the fifth, and I think that was the decisive inning for Matanzas. Castillo walked two more, and José Amaury Noroña finished the fifth inning by grounding out to shortstop. The opportunities were enough, at least to get closer on the scoreboard before the Alazanes broke loose with a three-run rally at the beginning of the seventh inning.

The Crocodiles were unable to deliver the shot that would have made the series 3-0, and lost for the fourth time in five decisions during Game 3 of the playoffs against the Alazanes. If Matanzas fails to react in time, this series could take a difficult turn in Game 4.

Game 4: Pinar del Río 6, Sancti Spíritus 0

Pinar del Río leads the series 3-1

The statistics have shown it all year: It's hard to beat the team that led the league without getting its top hitters out. That might sound redundant, but the key hitters in Pinar del Río's lineup haven't just been the first-to-fourth hitters.

For the first time in 14 years, the Vegueros featured a lineup with five hitters who recorded at least 45 RBIs: Alexei Ramírez (70), William Saavedra (60), Yasser Julio González (55), Jorge Yoán Rojas (52) and Tailon Sánchez (47). In other words, more than half of the lineup is capable of generating a serious problem. For most of the pitchers it has been difficult to face the vertical power of the Vegueros, especially when facing the group of the first five batters.

And so the pressure began for left-hander Yohannys Hernández in the first inning of Game 4: Yasser Julio González hit a two-run RBI triple in the first inning. Two innings later, Alexei Ramírez hit a solo home run for a 3-0 lead.

Pinar del Río scored runs in four of the first five innings of the game. The quick 6-0 lead doubled the three runs Sancti Spíritus has scored in its last three games and 27 innings on offense. The decision, as it happened in Game 1, was a matter of time. Pinar del Río did not score in the rest of the game, although they recorded 10 of their 18 hits against the Gallos bullpen.

Right-hander Jenier Álvarez came to the rescue of rookie Randy Román Martínez and pitched 7 ⅔ innings, with five strikeouts and no walks. The pitching strategy of the “greenlegs” worked again, and this time they limited all the hitters around Frederich Cepeda to 0-for-12. Sancti Spíritus reached nine runners and none managed to score. In four games they have gone 3-for-30 with men in scoring position, and from the third inning onwards they have not been able to score runs.

The Vegueros of Pinar del Río have put the series 3-1, and are on their way to becoming the first team to qualify for the Semifinal of this 63rd National Series of Cuban baseball.