This Friday, July 5, the action continued in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball Major League, with five Cubans seeing action on the evening in three of the five games played. Yoelkis Guibert and Dariel Álvarez stood out with their bats, while right-hander Pavel Hernández dominated on the mound.
Pavel notched a quality start in the 6-3 victory of Samanes de Aragua (20-20) over Líderes de Miranda (24-17) at the José Pérez Colmenares stadium. This game kept Samanes alive, who will conclude the qualifying phase tomorrow with a doubleheader against Centauros de La Guaira (21-19).
The Cuban right-hander pitched six complete innings, allowing only one hit, no runs, three walks, and striking out five. He received offensive support from his team, leaving the mound with a 3-0 lead and lowering his ERA to 5.27.
In his sixteenth game in Venezuela, Yoelkis Guibert went 4-for-6 with his second home run, three runs scored, and two RBIs during the 14-0 victory of his Senadores de Caracas (23-18) over Delfines de La Guaira (12-29) at the Forum La Guaira stadium in Macuto.
Guibert, a member of the Cuban team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, led off and center fielder for the Senadores for the sixteenth consecutive game. After 16 contests in LMBP he is hitting .485 (66 AB; 32 H), has scored 26 runs and driven in 12.
The left-hander has hit safely in 15 of the 16 games he has played so far, with at least two hits in 11 of them. Guibert has been torturing the league’s pitching since he started playing on June 18, swatting 10 extra-base hits (7 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR), 12 walks, and only five strikeouts. He has also shown his speed on the base paths with four stolen bases in five attempts, and is slashing a robust .557/.712/1.269.
Also for Caracas in the game, fellow Cuban Dariel Álvarez (3rd hitter; LF) continued his excellent hitting by going 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles, a sacrifice fly, three RBIs, and a run scored. His batting average is now .384 (151 AB; 58 H), with 20 extra-base hits (9 2B and 11 HR) and 45 RBIs on the campaign.
Cuban action on the evening (July 5):
- Yoel Yanqui (Marineros de Carabobo, doubleheader): 7-3, RBI, 2K (.380)
- Pavel Hernández (Samanes de Aragua): 6.0 IP, H, 0ER, 3BB, 5K, W (2-1) (5.27 ERA)
- Yoelkis Guibert (Senadores de Caracas): 6-4, 3R, HR, 2RBI (.485)
- Dariel Álvarez (Senadores de Caracas): 5-2, R, 2 2B, 3RBI, SF (.384)
- Lorenzo Quintana (Líderes de Miranda): 4-2 (.319)