Ariel Hechavarría homered and Jonathan Carbó had a strong outing
Semifinals of the II Elite League of Cuban Baseball
Industriales 7, Artemisa 2
Artemisa leads the series 3-1
Jonathan Carbó delivered from the mound, slumping Ariel Hechavarría delivered a big hit and the Industriales Lions took advantage of a bad start of Artemisa Darío Sarduy to beat the Hunters 7-2 Thursday afternoon avoiding elimination and push the semifinal series to Game 5.
Ariel Hechavarría was just back in the Industriales lineup and hit a key two-run homer for his only hit of the series. Hechavarría was 0-for-6 in Games 1 and 2 of the series and didn't see any action in Game 3.
Artemisa starter Darío Sarduy struggled early and was hit hard in the fourth inning. It was the inning when Industriales took control of the game, scoring four decisive runs. A single by Jorge Alomá, a double by Yasiel Santoya, and an RBI single by Oscar Valdés tied the game. A fielder's choice gave the Lions a 2-1 lead. This was the moment when Hechavarría came through with the huge hit, a two-run homer giving Industriales a 4-1 lead that Artemisa would never overtake.
Sarduy returned to the mound in the fifth inning, but after issuing back-to-back walks he was removed. Alomá moved the runners with a deep flyout to center against new reliever Osdany Rodriguez, and Santoya's sacrifice fly extended the lead to 5-1 as Valdés' double made it 6-1. In just four innings, Sarduy was tagged with six runs. He allowed five hits and walked five in the loss.
A superb performance from the Lions' starter was the highlight of the game for the second straight game. The six-inning gem pitched by Jonathan Carbó kept Industriales alive for at least one more day. Despite striking out two and walking a pair, Artemisa was limited to only one run on four hits from the right-hander. Tasked with extending the Industriales' season, Carbó delivered under pressure. Having started just three games for the Lions in the II Elite League, pitching 7 1/3 and going 1-0, he made 84 pitches for a win today.
In relief, Kevin Hernández also excelled. In his nearly three perfect innings, he faced 10 batters and allowed just one hit, Frederich Cepeda's solo homer in the ninth. Hernández struck out just one, but most importantly, he preserved the lead to avoid a four-game sweep by the Hunters.
Game 5 is Friday night (6:30 pm ET) at Latinoamericano Stadium, with ace Reemberto Barreto scheduled to start for Industriales. Possibly, Artemisa will use his Game 1 starter, Geonel Gutiérrez.
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