Cuban slugger Despaigne homers in Japan

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 19 (acn) Cuban baseball player Alfredo Despaigne hit his second home run of the season in the Japanese Professional Baseball League (NPB), thus contributing to the 10-3 victory of his team, Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, over the Chiba Lotte Marines.
This was his second consecutive game with a homer, after being very bad offensively, because in the previous 14 at-bats after the first homerun, he had only hit a hit.
In this game, Despaigne hit 2 for 5 to raise his BA to .241, with seven RBIs.
In an interview posted on the Internet after the match, the Cuban slugger assured that he is slowly improving his sporting form and he is happy to be back in Japan, where he likes to play.
He said that his team always goes out to fight for the victory and wants the fans of the Chiba Lotte Marines, with whom he played his previous three seasons in the NPB, continue to support him despite now belonging to the Hawks.
The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, one of the favorites to the title in the Pacific circuit before the start of the season, has seven wins and eight losses, and ranks fourth, behind the Rakuten Golden Eagles, the Orix Buffalos and the Seibu Lions.
In his previous three seasons in the NPB, Despaigne, champion in the previous Cuban National Baseball Series with the Granma Alazanes, played in 282 games with BA of .277 thanks to 280 hits in 1,010 at-bats, with 156 runs scored and 187 RBIs, 54 homers, 58 doubles and a triple.