Elían Leyva took the mound in the 6th and 7th innings of the CPBL All-Star Game and was virtually unhittable. The right-hander from Mayabeque, Cuba only allowed a hit and a base on ball while striking out three in the league’s All-Stars’ 5-0 blanking of the Taiwanese Sub-24 national team.
On the season Leyva sports a 4-1 record, 3.05 ERA and has struck out 49 batters in 56 innings pitched. Leyva also pitched for Cuba in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and very effectively. The highlight of the tournament for the righty was his strikeout of Mike Trout in Cuba’s semifinal game versus Team USA.
Leyva will be a key figure for Rakuten in their quest for a playoff birth in the second half of the season. Look for the Cuban to continue to be the ace for the Taiwanese squad. There was no Cuban action on the day in the Nippon League or in the Korean Baseball Organization.
With pitchers like Raidel Martínez in the NPB, Elían Leyva in the CPBL and Roenis Elías in the KBO expect a big second half from these Cubans with their teams respectively. Also sluggers like Ariel Martínez and Guillermo Heredia are expected to have big second halves.
Los números del derecho mayabequense @ElianLD de los @RakutenMonkeys en el juego de estrellas de la @CPBL esta mañana:
IP: 2
H: 1
ER: 0
SO: 3
BB: 1Las estrellas de la CPBL blanquearon al equipo U-24 de Taiwan 5-0.#pelotacubana #CPBL
📽: CPBL TV pic.twitter.com/evQpNpttqS
— Yusseff305 🇨🇺🇺🇲 (@yusseff305) July 31, 2023