Frank Abel Álvarez made his first start for the Chunichi Dragons minor league and was dominant. The right-hander from Pinar del Río, Cuba tossed five innings where he only allowed a hit and fanned three. The Dragons edged the SoftBank Hawks 3-2 and Álvarez saw his ERA fall to 7.56 on the season.
Raidel Martínez notched his thirteenth save of the season this Thursday after allowing a hit without runs and striking out 2 rivals in an inning of relief in the 6-5 victory of the Chunichi Dragons over the SoftBank Hawks in Pay Pay Fukuoka Dome.
El derecho pinareño Frank Abel Álvarez cosechó su primera victoria de la campaña con el segundo equipo de los @DragonsOfficial tras tirar 5 capítulos donde solamente permitió una imparable sin carreras limpias y abanicó 3. #pelotacubana #Chunichi #NPB pic.twitter.com/EYndaKPuXG
— Yusseff305 🇨🇺🇺🇲 (@yusseff305) June 1, 2023
The lanky righty who has made six consecutive appearances with at least one strikeout, kept his ERA at 0.00 and now leads the Central League in saves. His countrymen and teammate Dayán Viciedo went 0-for-3, with a run and a walk, to lower his average to .225.
In the KBO Guillermo Heredia collected two hits went yard twice in SSG’s 14-2 thrashing of Samsung. The outfielder who drove in two runs on the day also leads the KBO in batting average (.337).
Cuban action on the day:
NPB:
Frank Abel Álvarez (CD) 5.0IP,H,0ER,3K*
Dayán Viciedo (CD) 3-0,R
Raidel Martínez (CD) 1.0IP,
Ariel Martínez (NH) 1-0
KBO:
Guillermo Heredia (SSG) 3-2,HR,2RBI,2R
CPBL:
No Cuban action on the day