Cuban pitcher strong as a reliever, but Cuban hitters muted at the NPB

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 13 (ACN) Barely one hit in nine at-bats today was the poor offensive performance of Cuban players playing in the Japanese professional baseball league.

At the Rakuten Seimei Park in Sendai, Leonys Martin, one of those playing in Japan without a contract, sponsored by the national federation, hit the only Cuban single. He had three turns, scored one run and received two tickets in the 6-2 victory of the Lotte Marinos over the Rakuten Eagles.
After this performance, Leonys' average -the Central League home run leader (7)- rose to 263.

Meanwhile, the Chunichi Dragons lost 1-2 to the Yomiuri Giants at the Tokyo Dome. In that game, Cubans Ariel Martinez, defending the first pad, and reliever Raidel Martinez made their debuts.

Ariel was 3-0, with two strikeouts and a ticket, to keep his starting average at 000, while Raidel pitched a perfect relief performance, including a strikeout, to keep his ERA at 0.00.

And Yurisbel Gracial was 2-0, with one run scored and two tickets, in the SoftBank Falcons' 4-7 loss to the Orix Buffaloes at the Pay Pay Dome in Fukuoka. His average dropped to 281.

Meanwhile, his teammate, Alfredo Despaigne, failed in one at-bat and also received two walks to lower his average to 205.