Cuban Despaigne hit first home run, the rest with good pace at NPB

HAVANA, Cuba, Jun 3 (ACN) Cuban slugger Alfredo Despaigne hit his first home run of the season Friday in a relief appearance and drove in two runs to contribute to the SoftBank Falcons' 6-0 victory over the Chunichi Dragons in the interleague phase of Japanese professional baseball.

At the Vantelin Dome in Nagoya, the Cuban player, who has only played in 10 games so far this year, raised his average to 400 and scored his first two runs batted in for the Falcons, who play in the Pacific zone.

His compatriot and teammate, outfielder Yurisbel Gracial went 4-2 with two singles to raise his average to 279.

For Chunichi, a club from the Central zone, Cuban starter Dayan Viciedo also had a hit in four opportunities to keep his average at 261, while his compatriot, now outfielder Ariel Martinez, went 3-1 with a single to raise his average to 310.

In other games of the day, the Yomiuri Giants defeated the Lotte Marinos 10-3 at the Tokyo Dome.

For Lotte, Cuban outfielder Leonys Martin went 3-2, with a double, a single, a run scored and a ticket, to raise his average to 154, while shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria hit a single in four innings to raise his average to 217.