Postseason: The history of dominance continues
The history of dominance was repeated again: Los Alazanes de Granma were down 3-1, and came back with three consecutive victories against the Cocodrilos de Matanzas in the Quarterfinal series of this 63rd National Series of Cuban baseball.
After eliminating Matanzas, the Alazanes de Granma will face the Leñadores de Las Tunas in the Semifinals, a reissue of the Final of the 57th National Series. After the elimination, the Cocodrilos finished in seventh place of the season, so they will not be able to participate in the III Elite Cuban Baseball League. Santiago de Cuba (fifth) and Ciego de Ávila (sixth) secured their participation along with the four qualified for the Semifinals: Industriales vs. Pinar del Río, and Granma vs. Las Tunas.
Left-hander Yunier Castillo was the hero of the afternoon with a gem of eight innings of pitching where he allowed two earned runs and just four hits (all singles) against the Cocodrilos' offense. Castillo's key was in his control and dominance against the Matanzas lineup: the hitters from first to third turn, Yadil Mujica (0-for-4), Adrián Pérez (0-for-3) and Ariel Sánchez (1-for-4) they went 1-for-11.
In five of the eight innings, he started by throwing out his first two opponents.
The Alazanes gave Castillo a quick lead with a two-run rally in the first inning thanks to an RBI single by Guillermo Avilés. And, after two outs, Alfredo Despaigne surprisingly escaped a round up and scored the second run of the game. Before Granma completely turned the score around at the end of the eighth, that run that Despaigne scored was costing the Cocodrilos the game.
Matanzas had tied the game in the second inning. Eduardo Blanco opened the inning with a single to left, José Amaury Noroña received a walk and Luis Sánchez bunted a sacrifice to advance the runners to scoring position. Ground ball to short by Andrys Pérez and a single by Yariel Duque tied the score at 2-2, but the Cocodrilos did not score again in the rest of the game.
In the bottom of the sixth, a single by Raico Santos gave the Alazanes a 3-2 lead, who decided Game 7 with a six-run rally in the bottom of the eighth. Throughout the season, the inconsistency of Matanzas' pitching was a trend. However, the contribution of the offense and defense was able to turn potential losses into victories. During the first four games of these playoffs, offense was again key for the Cocodrilos, but in the last three games they were dominated.
It is striking that, from Game 5 to Game 7, Matanzas hit more ground balls into a double play (7) than extra bases (two: a double by Andrys Pérez and a home run by José Amaury Noroña), and they left 83% of the players waiting for a hit. 30 runners who had in scoring position. Production in clutch situations was absent and, unlike Matanzas, the Alazanes let loose to hit.
In the last three games that marked the Alazanes' comeback, there were several hitters who made adjustments:
Osvaldo Abreu: hit .400 with four runs scored.
Raico Santos: drove in three runs, two of them to provide a tie and advantage on the scoreboard.
Alfredo Despaigne: Did not drive in runs, but reached base in 10 of his last 15 plate appearances and scored three times.
Guillermo Avilés: He hit 7-for-12, .583!, including two doubles, a timely home run that tied the score 2-2 in the sixth inning of Game 6, and drove in five runs.
Pedro Almeida: He was the key pinch-hitter for the Alazanes, he went 1-for-2 and drove in two of the three runners he found in scoring position.
Leonardo Alarcón: He hit 5-for-12 (.417), with three doubles, a triple and four RBIs. His defense at short stop was virtually flawless, showing off his powerful arm and well above average defensive range factor.
Alexquemer Sánchez: Reached base in seven of his 14 plate appearances.
Yulieski Remón: batted 2-for-11 (.182), but drove in three runs and stole a base.
That offensive performance, together with a defense that fielded .993 during the seven games, was enough to support the pitching, and the Alazanes came back again against the Cocodrilos of Matanzas.
After starting with a 3-1 lead, Matanzas scored just seven runs in its last three games. The Cocodrilos' offense was dominated by Granma's three starters, Leandro Martínez in Game 5, Sammy Benítez in Game 6, and left-hander Yunier Castillo in Game 7.
After those three quality outings, the Alazanes bullpen used only two pitchers in three games: Juan Danilo Pérez (4 ⅓ inning) and Lismay Ferrales (he pitched the last inning of Game 7). They had no wear whatsoever.
Without the offensive production that led Matanzas to win three of the first four games against the Alazanes, the pressure fell on the pitching rotation. In the end, the bullpen carried all the weight and could not stop the Alazanes offense. Noelvis Entenza was the only impact reliever: he finished 0-2, but pitched more innings than the four starters (13 ⅓ innings) and saved in all three Matanzas wins. However, the rest of the relievers were inconsistent. Of the 22 runners that the Matanzas bullpen inherited, 55% (12) ended up scoring runs.
Entenza's performance during 6 ⅓ innings with one earned run allowed deserved better luck in Game 7. And, after he left, the Alazanes scored a six-run rally in the bottom of the eighth. Once again, promising closer Armando Dueñas Jr. was hit and allowed four of the six runs in the inning. In three reliefs, the Alazanes went 10-for-15 (.667) against Dueñas Jr., and also bombed Henry Moyet (.429), another of Matanzas' main relievers.
As happened in the 61st National Series, the Cocodrilos arrived with a 3-2 lead in Game 6, but lost the last two games at the Mártires de Barbados stadium. The Cocodrilos could not finish, and were eliminated for the fifth consecutive playoffs against the Alazanes:
56 National Series — SEMIFINAL (7 Games) 4-3
57 National Series — SEMIFINAL (5 Games) 4-1
60 National Series — FINAL (6 Games) 4-2
61 National Series — FINAL (7 Games) 4-3
63 National Series — QUARTERFINALS (7 Games) 4-3
About the great dominance of the Alazanes of Granma there are two impressive stories here:
1) They are 7-0 in Games 6 and 7 against Matanzas: 4-0 in Games 6 and 3-0 in Games 7.
2) They have won 11 consecutive playoff series, an unprecedented record in postseason history. I will definitely delve into this great feat that is still active.
Before this season, the Alazanes had been crowned champions in their last four playoff appearances:
2017: Granma vs Ciego de Ávila
2018: Granma vs Las Tunas
2021: Granma vs Matanzas
2022: Granma vs Matanzas
So, until now, the story of dominance continues: since the 2017 postseason, no team has been able to beat the Alazanes in a playoff series, and the Cocodrilos of Matanzas have gotten the worst of it, with five consecutive losses.