Cristián Rodríguez collected three hits and knocked in a run for the Chunichi Dragons in their 9-0 blanking of the Hanshin Tigers in a minor league contest. The shortstop saw his average rise to .316 and has now driven in five runs on the campaign.
Rodríguez looks to be Cuba’s shortstop in the upcoming World Baseball Classic and could possibly be if the country decides not to add a player outside of the control of the Cuban Federation. Last season Rodríguez opened the year with Chunichi’s big club.
In 88 games combined between the minors and the big leagues in Japan he slashed .240/.302/.276/.578 and 17 runs batted in, this offseason he worked more on his strength and has already gone yard once on the campaign.
Cuban action on the night:
NPB:
Andy Martín (CL) 4-0 (.200) **
Christian Rodríguez (CD) 4-3,RBI (.316)**
KBO:
Rubén Cárdenas (KH) 3-0 (.241)*
*Cuban-American
**Minor Leagues