Cuban Players shine in Japanese Professional Baseball Pre-Season

Cubans Alfredo Despaigne and Livan Moinelo maintained their good performance in the preseason of the Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB), although their team, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, lost 3-4 to the Chunichi Dragons.

According to the NPB website, Despaigne batted 3 for 4, including a solo homer, double and a single, and drove in a run, thus raising his batting average to .421, and now totals four homers and seven RBIs.
Last season, in the Pacific League, the Cuban slugger finished as homerun and RBI leader with 35 and 103, respectively.

Meanwhile, lefty reliever Moinelo pitched two-thirds of scoreless innings, to reduce his ERA to 5.40.
The 2018 NPB season kicks off next March 30th and the Hawks of the Cubans Despaigne and Moinelo will face at home the Orix Buffaloes at the Yafuoku Dome.