Raidel Martínez recorded his 18th save of the season this Thursday and further solidified his position as the leader in Japan’s NPB Central League. During the 2-1 victory over the in front of 42,103 fans at the , the native of Pinar del Río, Cuba retired the ninth inning without allowing a run. He issued one walk and struck out two batters.
This was Martinez’s 230th save at the top level of Japanese professional baseball. He now ranks 10th all-time in that category and is just four saves away from tying American reliever for ninth place on the all-time list. The hurler now has three more saves than (Yakult) this season. He owns a 1.77 ERA (20.1 IP, 4 ER), has recorded 25 strikeouts, and is holding opposing hitters to a .157 batting average.
In the minors leagues with the Nippon-Ham Fighters Cuban slugger swatted two homeruns and knocked in three runs on the day, while also scoring twice during his team’s 6-1 win over the Chunichi Dragons. For Martínez it was his fifth longball to go along with 14 runs batted in on the campaign. He also upped his average to a robust .419 this year in the minors.
Cuban action on the day:
NPB:
Raidel Martínez (YOM): 1.0IP,0H,0ER,2K (1.77)
Christian Rodríguez (CD): 4-0 (.264)
Ariel Martínez (NH) 4-3,2HR,3RBI,2R (.419)
KBO:
Guillermo Heredia (SSG): 3-0 (.258)
CPBL:
No Cuban action on the day.