Raidel Martínez earned his first save of the current season in his first appearance of the season during the Yomiuri Giants’ 3–2 victory over the DeNA BayStars at the Tokyo Dome. The Cuban right-hander has been the top closer in the entire Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league over the last five years, and could reach 250 career saves this season in the NPB.
The Cuban made his debut in the ninth inning, with his team leading 3–1 and a save opportunity on the line. During his outing, he allowed one run, but it was enough to preserve the victory for the Japanese league’s founding franchise. Martínez got off to a late start this season as he worked to get into game shape following his participation with Team Cuba in the sixth World Baseball Classic, where he recorded two saves.
On the day the hurler allowed a base hit to the very first batter he faced; this was followed by a fly ball to left field, and a second out was recorded on another harmless fly ball. Just when it appeared that DeNA would fail to score, Toshiro Miyazaki hit a double that brought the visitors within a single run. The inning—and the game—concluded with a strikeout of Tatsuo Ebina, securing the 27th and final out of the contest.
Cuban action on the day:
NPB:
Raidel Martínez (YOM): 1.0IP,2H,ER,K (9.00)
Dayán Viciedo (DeNA): 3-1 (.357)
Ariel Martínez (NH): 3-3 (1.000)*
KBO:
Guillermo Heredia (SSG) 5-0 (.262)
CPBL:
No Cuban action.