Ariel Martínez hit his ninth home run of the campaign in five at-bats and drove in three runs to give the Nippon Fighters a 6-1 victory over the Seibu Lions at the Belluna Dome in Tokorozawa. The first baseman, who broke the 1-1 tie in the eighth inning with his three-run blast, saw his average drop to .243, but increased his total RBIs to 36.
In a minor league game Dayán Viciedo swatted a hit in two at-bats during Chunichi’s 6-3 loss to SoftBank Hawks. The slugger who has split the season between the big and minor league club now hits .315 and has driven in 14 runs with the junior ball club.
In KBO news Cuban-American slugger Rubén Cárdenas signed with the Samsung Lions. The Phillies farmhand is hitting .277 with 20 homeruns and 56 runs batted in this season over 77 games with Philadelphia’s and Tampa’s Triple-A ball clubs. Expect Cárdenas to be a big part of the Korean squad’s offense the second half of the season.
Cuban action on the day:
NPB:
Christian Rodríguez (CD) 3-0
Dayán Viciedo (CD) 2-1,RBI,R**
Ariel Martínez (NH) 5-1,HR,3RBI,R
Andy Martín (CM) 3-1**
KBO:
Guillermo Heredia (SSG) 4-0
CPBL:
No Cuban action on the day