Ariel Martinez collected two hits in four at-bats and drove in a run, but his efforts were not enough to prevent a Nippon Ham Fighters loss to the Lotte Mariners 4-2 at the newly opened Es Con Field in Hokkaido. The slugger from Matanzas,Cuba who had a dismal start at the plate is finally finding his way with the wood, Martínez upped his average to .226 and increased his RBI total to two on the young season.
In the minors of the land of the rising a pair of Cubans saw action. The slugging first baseman Dayán Viciedo went hitless in three at-bats with Chunichi’s farm club. Viciedo who was recently relegated to the minors by the big club saw his first action on the farm.
The other islander who saw action on the day was Guillermo Guillermo who swatted two hits and scored a run in the Dragons’ 3-2 loss to the Hiroshima Carp. García has looked sharp with the bat this season hitting .409 in seven games and knocking on the door for a call up with the big club.
In Korea Guillermo Heredia collected a hit and knocked in a run in four at-bats, but SSG fell to the KT Wiz 4-2. The outfielder saw his average fall to .341 and is second amongst all foreign players in the KBO with eight RBI’s. Heredia is also slashing .431/.523/.954 on the year. The prized offseason free agent acquisition for SSG seems to be paying dividends so far at the plate.
🇨🇺Ariel Martínez todavía no se ha ganado la titularidad con los Luchadores de Nippon Ham, pero su actuación de hoy (18/04/2023) lo va a ayudar. Se fue de 4-2, con 2 sencillos y una empujada.
— Béisbol Japonés.com (@beisboljapones) April 18, 2023
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