2019 Cuban Finals | Las Tunas Wins First Cuban Championships
When myworld first discovered Cuban baseball, Las Tunas was one of the teams you could count on to finish at the bottom of the standings.
With defections and many of the top players bolting for the United States the landscape has changed for Cuban baseball.
For the most part teams in the Nacional Series are composed of players who grow up in their barrio, except for the Capital which can sometimes acquire top players from other teams.
With the Cuban season now composed of two parts to a season players are drafted from teams outside their barrio from the teams who failed to advance in the second half. It has played havoc for websites attempting to keep statistics for players.
¡LOS LEÑADORES DE LAS TUNAS!
¡CAMPEONES DEL BÉISBOL!
¡ADIÓS A LA SEQUÍA DE 42 AÑOS!
¡FIN DE LA 58 SERIE NACIONAL DEL BÉISBOL CUBANO!
.@baseballdecuba pic.twitter.com/kfl8Th7iie
— Yirsandy Rodríguez (@Yirsandy) January 18, 2019
The Lumberjacks finally won their first championship after downing the Orangeman of Villa Clara in five games.
Jorge Johnson was the big bat for Las Tunas. In the final game, an 8-4 win Johnson went 3 for 5 with a homerun and four RBIs.
Alexander Ayala also contributed with a 4 for 4 day with a homerun and two RBIs. Yadián Martínez went 5.2 innings of shutout relief to allow the Lumberjacks to come back from a 4-2 deficit after four innings, picking up his second victory in two days.
In the opening game of the championship series Jorge Johnson went 4 for 5 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Daniel Castro and Jorge Alomá each went deep and drove in four runs. The first bullpen victory was recorded by Yudier Rodriguez, who worked 2.2 innings while allowing just one hit.
The Johnson bat remained hot in game two with a 2 for 5 day, his first homerun of the series and three RBIs. Jorge Aloma kept pace with a 3 for 3 performance and two runs scored.
6th, "B":
*¿Strikeout de campeonato el de Yadián Martínez vs. Stayler Hernández?
.@baseballdecuba pic.twitter.com/opODnCCRNw
— Yirsandy Rodríguez (@Yirsandy) January 18, 2019
The Lumberjacks came up short in game three 9-4. Villa Clara exploded for six runs in the sixth to put the game out of reach. The Johnson bat became boring with a 1 for 4 performance. Jorge Aloma went hitless in three at bats. William Saavedra was the big bat for Villa Clara with one homerun and three RBIs and two runs scored.
Que bueno ver a ambos managers, Eduardo Paret y Pablo Civil, abrazados en el terreno luego de la decisión de la #58SNB. Paret también hizo un gran trabajo. Es solo el inicio.
Han sido grandes jornadas de trabajo en esta temporada. ¡Orgulloso de trabajar con .@baseballdecuba !
— Yirsandy Rodríguez (@Yirsandy) January 18, 2019
Las Tunas came back in game four with a 7-5 win despite the quiet bats from Johnson. Jorge Aloma did contribute two hits but Yasiel Santoya drove in three runs to prove the difference in the game. Yadian Martinez got the win out of the bullpen despite giving up two runs, surviving three innings which was enough to get the win.
The Johnson bat returned in the final game to finish the five game series with 10 RBIs. The down side of the series is the celebration was held at the Villa Clara park. Myworld is confident Las Tunas residents will give them their celebration when they return home.