GRANMA, Cuba, May 12 (acn) Cuban Alfredo Despaigne, who plays in the Japanese Professional Baseball League (NPB), hit his ninth homer of the season and drove in three runs to thus lead those two statistics on the Pacific circuit and help his team, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, to beat 7-0 the Orix Buffaloes.
Debutant in NPB in 2014, the slugger hit 2 for 4, scored two runs, with a walk and stole his second base of the season.
After this performance, Despaigne tied as homerun leader with Takahiro Okada (Orix Buffaloes) and Takeya Nakamura (Seibu Lions), the latter also ranks first in RBIs, also tied with the Cuban as they both have 29, and are followed by Seiichi Uchikawa (Hawks), with 27.
Despaigne has now a BA of .240, thanks to 30 hits in 125 at-bats, with 18 runs scored and five doubles in 35 games and his homerun frequency is one every 13.9 ABs, higher than its first three campaigns in Japan, when it was one every 18.68 ABs.
The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, one of the favorites prior the starting of the tournament, achieved their 22nd win and appear second in the Pacific circuit, behind the Rakuten Golden Eagles.
Two other Cuban players, lefty pitcher Livan Moinelo and pitcher, infielder and outfielder Oscar Luis Colas recently signed contracts with this same franchise, but they will first play in the NPB second division.
Nos reservamos el derecho de no publicar los comentario que incumplan con las normas de este sitio