In another close clash, Sancti Spíritus achieved its fourth success this Saturday in five appearances against Holguín (3×2) and preserved the coveted eighth place for which five teams are fighting in the final stretch of the National Baseball Series.
The Gallos had an excellent combined effort from Yohannis Hernández, who earned his seventh victory in the competition after allowing only one run in six innings, and Yankiel Mauri, who recorded his eleventh saved game, and is now the leader in that department. Carlos Michel Benavides worked an inning of relief, in which he allowed a score.
The Sancti Spiritus starter had three consecutive hits in the first inning to open the scoring, but his team responded with two at the close of that episode, when they hit four hits, including Frederich Cepeda’s tubey, to take the lead, which they expanded in the third, by combining a double by Alexis Varona and an RBI single by Carlos Gómez.
The Cubs narrowed the score in the eighth, when Yordan Manduley opened with a double off Benavides and was propelled by a hit from Edilse Silva that motivated the Sancti Spiritus high command to call Mauris, who retired the six men he faced to end the clash.
With a balance of 37 successes and 35 losses, the Gallos remain in eighth place with only three games left against Cienfuegos starting on Tuesday to close a campaign in which they maintain their hopes of advancing to the next phase, although they cannot be neglected , since Villa Clara and Guantánamo are only one match away from reaching them, while Artemisa and Mayabeque, who are two away, still have options, at least mathematically.
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