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The Cocodrilos de Matanzas staged an epic comeback on Wednesday in their debut at the III Champions League of Baseball, taking place at the Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium in Mexico City.
The yumurinos defeated the CTBC Brothers 9-8 from Chinese Taipei in a game that had them on the edge for several innings, according to the site JIT.
Matanzas found itself trailing 0x5 in the early innings after a poor start from left-handed starter Yoannis Yera, who allowed seven hits before being taken out in the third inning. Reliever Rafael Orlando Perdomo was solid —3.1 innings with four strikeouts— but Chinese Taipei scored another run against young Yosney García, leaving the score at 2x6.
The definitive reaction came in the seventh episode. With a disadvantage of 2x6, the yumurinos manufactured a cluster of six runs with five hits, including a two-run home run by second baseman Yulieski Remón with a runner on base, and took the lead on the scoreboard 8x6.
Frank Abel Álvarez maintained the lead in the eighth with pitches of up to 94 miles per hour, but closer Armando Dueñas did not display his usual control in the ninth and had to leave the game with the bases loaded and no outs.
The manager Armando Ferrer then turned to the reliever Brander Guevara, who, although he allowed a sacrifice fly that tied the game at 8-8, recorded the final three outs—two by strikeout—bringing the game to the winning at-bat.
The winning run came in the final of the ninth inning on a RBI hit by third baseman Luis Ángel Sánchez against the closer Lei Hsu. The Cocodrilos hit a total of 14 rockets, although they also made three errors throughout the game.
The tournament, organized by the WBSC and the Mexican Baseball League, takes place from March 24 to 29 in a round-robin format among five teams: Cocodrilos de Matanzas, Diablos Rojos del México —defending champions—, Dantos de Managua, CTBC Brothers, and Kane County Cougars from the United States. The top two teams will compete in the final on March 29.
Matanzas arrives at the tournament as the champion of the 64th National Baseball Series, won on February 14 with a 4-0 sweep over Las Tunas and a final knockout of 11-0 at the Latinoamericano Stadium in Havana. In that postseason, the Cocodrilos registered a record of 12-2 with a +58 run differential.
It is worth noting that for this tournament, the pitchers Moinelo and Raidel will be unavailable, having traveled to Japan. This Thursday, in their second match, Matanzas will face the Nicaraguan club Dantos de Managua, who will send left-hander Leonardo Crawford to the mound, with experience in Major League Baseball. For the Yumurinos, the reinforcement Raymond Figueredo will pitch.
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