Ariel Martínez swatted a pinch-hit single that drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning in the Nippon Ham Fighters’ 7-6 victory over the SoftBank Hawks at Es Con Field in Hokkaido to help the team clinch a playoff berth. His average rose to .241 and his total RBIs rose to 57.
In a minor league game Frank Abel Álvarez tossed a scoreless inning in which allowed two hits and fanned a batter to notch his first save of the campaign during Chunichi’s 3-1 win over Orix. The right-hander’s earned run average fell to 6.72 on the season.
Guillermo Heredia laced two hits in four trips to the plate and also knocked in a run to do his part in SSG’S 6-2 win over Hanwha. The outfielder leads the KBO with a .361 average and has driven in 118 runs on the season.
Cuban action on the day:
NPB:
Ariel Martínez (NH) 1-1,RBI
Carlos Moiner (CD) 1-1**
Frank Abel Álvarez (CD) 1.0IP,2H,0ER,K**
Andy Martín (CM) 3-1
KBO:
Guillermo Heredia (SSG) 4-2,2B,RBI
CPBL:
Río Gómez (WC) 0.2IP,4H,3ER,K