Havana, April 10 (RHC) – Cuban Raidel Martinez today recorded his third save in the young Japanese baseball season, securing the Yomiuri Giants’ 3-2 victory over the Yakult Swallows.
The lanky pitcher from Pinar del Río, in western Cuba, pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out one batter to secure the Giants’ sixth win in eleven games. The Giants play in the Central League of the Japanese professional baseball league.
Martínez, who had his best season in 2015 with a career-high 46 saves—also a record for a closer in the Central League—has amassed 215 saves since his debut in 2018 with the Chunichi Dragons.
Considered among the best in his role in Japanese professional baseball, after two seasons with more than 40 saves each, Raidel leads the all-time list of Latin American players with the most saves in the league.
Friday’s schedule also saw Hanshin win 5-3 against Chunichi and Lotte defeat Seibu 6-3, while rain prevented the matches between DeNA and Hiroshima and Orix against Rakuten from taking place.
