Early in the morning at the Teodoro Mariscal stadium in Mazatlán, the leaders of the qualifying stage will send their ace Carlos ‘Tsunami’ Martínez to the mound, while the channel managers led by Cuban Alfonso Urquiola could depend on Manuel Campos.
The most successful manager in the history of Dominican baseball, Félix Fermín, here also became the one with the most wins in series in the Caribbean, since he has 26, and is seeking his fourth crown in six appearances.
The ninth eagle and his mentor rely for the semifinal on the powerful arm of the American Major League Baseball pitcher and the bats of players like the illustrious bartender Robinson Canó, the experienced Melky Cabrera and the home run leader and promoter of the tournament, Juan Lagares.
For their part, the Federals got into the semifinals practically from their first outing on the field, in which they beat the eliminated Caribes de Anzoátegui (Venezuela) 6-3, and finished the free-for-all phase with a balance of 2-3 and three failures in a row, although his offense is by far the best in the championship so far, 285.
The Dominican Republic beat Panama 11-6 in the tie, but this afternoon’s game is a clean slate in a sport like balls and strikes, in which nothing is written until the last out.
In the second shift, the manager of Criollos de Caguas, Ramón Vázquez, will depend on 21-year-old right-hand Luis Medina to dream of the grand final on Saturday, after recovering from the initial defeat against the Eagles and concluding the qualifier with four consecutive wins .
From the Mexican cave, the pilot Benjamín Gil could send to the mound the winner of the opening duel, Manny Barreda, with the expectation of taking revenge for the 4-6 setback against the Puerto Ricans in the preliminaries.
The Tomateros fought until dawn today to beat Caribes 4-3 in 10 innings and go from third to the crosses, with 3-2.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the Teodoro Mariscal stadium receives the public, with the possibility of occupying up to 45 percent of its 16 thousand seats, in a contest that once again misses the ninth champion of Cuba.
As happened last year, the island is the great absentee from the Caribbean Series of baseball, as a result of pressure exerted by the administration of now former US President Donald Trump.
Cuba hosted the inaugural edition of the regional tournament in 1949, in which its representatives won the title in seven of the first 12 championships, and had returned as guests in 2014.
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