Postseason: A stroke of power
In the first four games of the Semifinal, the Vegueros de Pinar del Río offense had connected 34 hits, for an average of 6.8 per game—in the regular season they recorded 11.5. Of those 34 hits, 88% were single hits (30), with just four extra bases and, most worrying: they had not hit home runs in 157 appearances to the plate.
Industriales' pitching, especially the starters with three quality outings in four games, had found the formula to limit the power of the Vegueros. However, after a 2-2 tie in this Semifinal series, the story took a complete turn in Game 5. Pinar del Río mercilessly bombarded Industriales' pitching until achieving a 15-3 success that has put them on the verge of return to their first final since 2016.
In just nine innings of offense, the Vegueros came out swinging and, in 52 plate appearances, ended up producing the same number of runs (15) that they had recorded in their previous four games against the Industriales pitchers. The long-awaited home run by the Vegueros came in the top of the ninth inning, a Grand Slam by capital outfielder Yasser Julio González to put an end to the anguishing night that the Blues' pitching suffered in front of his fans at the Latinoamericano stadium.
The Vegueros are back. They delivered a power blow, demonstrating why they have been the leaders of the season. For now, Game 6 is missing.
Semifinal Game 5: Pinar del Río 15, Industriales 3
Pinar del Río leads the series 3-2.
Key moment
The attack of the Vegueros during the first two innings. If something stood out about Industriales' pitching, it was the dominance of the pitchers opening the inning. In 18 combined innings between Games 3 and 4, Industriales pitchers put out 14 lead offs. Once they got that first out, in 86% of the innings they got the second batter out. That is, in the 18 innings prior to Game 5, Industriales pitchers started 12 of them (67%) with two outs. That high percentage of effectiveness considerably limited the attack of the Vegueros, who entered Game 5 averaging just .284 slugging and .030 ISO with four doubles without home runs.
Putting out every lead off of the Vegueros, the challenge that Industriales' pitching was meeting efficiently, was precisely the great challenge that right-hander Andy Vargas could not overcome during Monday night in Game 5. From the first inning, Discipline at the plate was key for the Vegueros. Lead off Juan Carlos Arencibia walked in an eight-pitch inning, and Alexei Ramírez singled to center. After 12 pitches and taking his first two opponents to two strikes, Vargas couldn't finish. Two pitches later, William Saavedra opened the scoring with a single to deep left field, which was about to become his 27th home run in the playoffs.
Pinar del Río came out ahead this time in the important Game 5, a lead he did not lose the rest of the night. With runners on the corners, Andy Vargas dominated Yasser Julio González and Jorge Yoán Rojas with two high outs to the infield. When it seemed that calm was returning, Tailon Sánchez hit an RBI double, the first of his three doubles and five hits during Monday night.
With two runs in the first inning, the Vegueros' adjustments at the plate were beginning to pay off. But the big blow came at the top of the second inning, when Vargas walked two opponents in a row. Andy threw 11 pitches against Yoanis Moreno and Rolando Martínez, the two underpowered hitters in the Vegueros lineup—they have combined for two extra-base hits during 52 plate appearances throughout the postseason.
Vargas had Moreno in mind 0-2, but could not dominate him. And then he threw three consecutive balls against Martínez. With two runners on base, lead off Juan Carlos Arencibia showed intentions of bunting, but Vargas threw two consecutive balls. He completely lost control, and was relieved by right-hander José Ernesto Pérez.
Vargas started down in the count against six of his 10 opponents. After their first matchup against the Vegueros lineup, six of the nine batters reached base. With Vargas out earlier than expected and the Industriales bullpen activated without its main relievers in the second inning, Pinar del Río scored a five-run rally that made the score 7-0.
In just two innings of offense, Game 5 was practically decided. Nine of the first 14 Vegueros hitters traveled around home plate at the Latinoamericano Stadium. When the top of the quarter ended, Pinar del Río had taken a 9-1 lead. Industriales scored their first run in the bottom of the second inning, on a single by Alberto Calderón. Rookie left-hander Randy Román Martínez appeared completely uncontrolled and walked four of the seven opponents he faced. In his rescue, right-hander Jenier Álvarez avoided a possible offensive reaction from the Lions, striking out Ariel Hechevarría, Roberto Acevedo and Roberto Álvarez with the bases loaded.
That was the first of seven innings pitched by Álvarez, who allowed just two runs (on a Yasmany Tomás double in the bottom of the fifth), with five strikeouts and two walks. The Vegueros scored six runs at the start of the ninth, when they combined a two-run RBI single by Alexei Ramírez and a Grand Slam by Yasser Julio González that made the game 15-3.
MVP of the Game
Tailon Sánchez. Tailon once again punished Industriales' pitching, this time with a historic game hitting 5-for-6 with three doubles and three RBIs. His three doubles and two singles made him the 13th hitter in playoff history with at least five hits in a game. Now Tailon is leading Pinar del Río's lineup with a .994 OPS throughout the postseason.
In 23 plate appearances, Tailon has been a nightmare for Industriales pitchers in this Semifinal: he has hit 10-for-19 (.526) with five doubles and five RBIs, hitting .800 in clutch situations. In addition to his offensive skills, Tailon has been key in the Vegueros infield, a potential that has made him one of the team's most valuable players throughout the year.
Turning points to consider:
—Discipline at the plate worked. When the first two Vegueros batters saw 11 pitches, Game 5 began with an encouraging trend. During Games 3 and 4, Pinar del Río hitters had increased their first-pitch swing rate by 3%. A renewed focus could be the way to explore Vargas' command. The offensive strategy worked. Pinar del Río came out to bat and, as happened in Game 2, the key was to attack the starter until he got him off the mound. Six of the nine batters that Andy Vargas faced reached base and that effectiveness was a catalyst for the Vegueros' offensive party. The change in approach at the plate was so favorable that the Blues walked 10 batters in Game 5. Seven of those 10 walks cost Industriales runs, and yet Pinar del Río left 10 runners on base.
—Have we seen the definitive awakening of the power of the Vegueros? There are still challenges to be seen in Game 6, but definitely, Game 5 could have marked a before and after for the Vegueros offense. Pinar del Río needed the offense to lead the way to success as it did throughout the regular season. It is true that in Game 5 Industriales did not have their main relievers, but either way, the Vegueros needed a change of focus. Ten of the team's 15 RBIs were recorded by their first four batters (three by Alexei Ramírez and William Saavedra, and four produced by Yasser Julio González's Grand Slam), who hit 9 for 19 with a pair of extra bases (double and home run by Yasser Julio González).
—Bullpenning. One of the best news for manager Guillermo Carmona is that he will have his main relievers ready to face the fifth game of possible elimination in these playoffs. The 15-3 loss in Game 5 was a blow against the inspiration that drove Industriales at home, but Carmona still has weapons left to seek success in Game 6. Pinar del Río will not be able to count on Jenier Álvarez, who He pitched a lengthy seven-inning relief, but preserved left-hander Raudel Lazo to lead the bullpen in Game 6.
—Industriales vs. Branlis Rodríguez in Game 6. All season, the Lions have had some success against Branlis: They are hitting .297 in 43 matchups, but 10 of the 11 hits have been singles. The only extra base hit was by Yasmany Tomás. Now, the troubling story here is that Oscar Valdes and Yasiel Santoya, two of the key hitters in the Lions' lineup, are a combined 1-for-7 against Branlis Rodriguez all year. What makes this small and at the same time significant sample worse is the current slump of Valdés and Santoya. Valdés is 0-for-18 in this Semifinal, and Santoya is 2-for-15. Both have hit 2-for-33, with eight strikeouts and one walk. Santoya was pinch-hit in the sixth inning of Game 4 and did not line up in Game 5.
Valdés has been a starter all the time for two reasonable arguments: his defensive contribution as a catcher, and the lack of a figure with sufficient experience and level to replace him. Ultimately, Carmona has a chance to switch Valdes' at-bats, but he hasn't done so. He has fully trusted that his main RBI of the regular season will recover again. Until now, Valdés has not been able to get out of a bad moment that is becoming an unprecedented slump in the history of the Semifinal playoff. The Blues' hope is that he still has time to respond.
One key statistic you should know: Industriales has played three Game 6s at the Capitán San Luis stadium and has just one win. Yes, that jewel of Deynis Suárez's pitching, leading a 5-0 success that eliminated Pinar del Río in the 43rd National Series. That victory was so significant, that it has been Industriales' only victory in five Games 6 and 7 combined (including the Blues' losses in the 2000 and 2014 Semifinals). Will the dominance of the Vegueros continue or will there be Game 7?
This series still seems to hold emotions...
Box Score
PINAR DEL RIO (15) AT INDUSTRIALES (3)
PINAR DEL RIO AB R H BI INDUSTRIALES AB R H BI
Juan C. Arencibia 3 3 2 0 Roberto Acevedo 4 1 1 0
Alexei Ramirez 6 3 3 3 Roberto Alvarez 3 1 0 0
William Saavedra 5 0 2 3 Yamil Rivalta 1 0 0 0
Yaser Julio Gonzalez 5 2 2 4 Yasmany Tomas 3 0 1 2
Jorge Yoan Rojas 4 2 0 1 Oscar Valdes 4 0 0 0
Tailon Sanchez 6 0 5 3 Dayron Miranda 2 1 1 0
Luis Pablo Acosta 5 1 2 1 Roque Tomas 2 0 1 0
Yoannis Moreno 3 2 0 0 Angel A. Hechevarria 3 0 0 0
Rolando Martinez 4 1 0 0 Alfredo Rodriguez 3 0 1 0
*Mario Sanchez 0 1 0 0 Ariel Hechevarria 3 0 0 0
Frank D. Gonzalez 1 0 1 0
Alberto Calderon 3 0 2 1
Julio C. Gonzalez 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 41 15 16 15 TOTALS 32 3 8 3
PINAR DEL RIO 250 200 006 -- 15
INDUSTRIALES 010 020 000 -- 3
LOB--PINAR DEL RíO 10, INDUSTRIALES 8. ERR--Roberto
Acevedo. 2B--Tailon Sanchez (3), Yaser Julio Gonzalez,
Yasmany Tomas. HR--Yaser Julio Gonzalez. HBP--Luis Pablo
Acosta.
PINAR DEL RIO IP H R ER BB SO HR
Randy Martinez 1.0 1 1 1 3 0 0
Jenier Alvarez (W) 7.0 7 2 2 2 5 0
Orisbel Borges 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
INDUSTRIALES
Andy Vargas (L) 1.0 3 4 4 4 0 0
Jose E. Perez 0.0 3 2 1 0 0 0
Carlos Cuesta 2 2/3 4 3 2 1 0 0
Diosvel Napoles 4 1/3 3 1 1 4 3 0
Misael Fonseca 1/3 1 4 4 2 0 0
Andy Lee Plumas 2/3 2 1 1 0 1 1
WP--Diosvel Napoles. SO--Luis Pablo Acosta (2), Yoannis
Moreno, Rolando Martinez, Ariel Hechevarria, Roberto
Alvarez, Roque Tomas, Roberto Acevedo, Yasmany Tomas.
BB--William Saavedra, Jorge Yoan Rojas (2), Yoannis Moreno
(2), Rolando Martinez, Yaser Julio Gonzalez, Juan C.
Arencibia (3), Angel A. Hechevarria, Roberto Alvarez,
Alfredo Rodriguez, Julio C. Gonzalez, Roberto Acevedo,
Yasmany Tomas.