The Pinar del Río squad found in Luis Pablo Acosta the man who opened the path to success, with a grand slam in the first inning that paved the way for the 5-2 victory over the Cazadores de Artemisa at the 26 de Julio stadium.

From the mound, Frank Denis Blanco held the lead for five and two-thirds innings, in which he allowed two runs, to earn the win and keep the westerners at the top of their zone with a record of eight wins and one loss.

At the other end of the country, the Avispas de Santiago de Cuba had to dig deep to overcome the Alazanes de Granma 9-8 at the Guillermón Moncada, where Yoelquis Guibert slugged two home runs and reached seven in the championship.

Yoel Yanqui and Jeison Martínez also went deep for the hosts, while Alfredo Despaigne celebrated his debut with the Granma uniform with a home run that was not enough to avoid the defeat.

The Cachorros de Holguín defeated the Indios de Guantánamo 5-2 at the Nguyen Van Troi, with Lázaro Cedeño as the offensive figure thanks to a double, a home run, and two RBIs.

The day also left a resounding knockout by Villa Clara, which shut out the Cocodrilos de Matanzas 10-0 at the Augusto César Sandino, supported by seven innings from José Carlos Quesada.

Ciego de Ávila also celebrated from the mound and at the plate by beating Sancti Spíritus 4-0, with the fourth victory of Yunier Batista and a triple by Fernando de la Paz that cleared the bases during the decisive four-run rally in the ninth inning.

At the Nelson Fernández, Mayabeque halted the march of the Elefantes de Cienfuegos with a 9-6 win that ended the southerners' four-game winning streak, while Camagüey came out on top 7-6 against Las Tunas in a duel resolved by Luis Antonio Pérez's double, which left the visitors on the field.

The Toros also counted on home runs from Hubert Sánchez and Alexander Ayala, while Jean Lucas Baldoquín contributed one for the Leñadores, unable to complete the comeback.

Industriales closed the program with a 12-1 knockout over the Piratas de La Isla at the Cristóbal Labra, where Remberto Barrero dominated from the mound and Bryan González, Ariel Hechavarría, and Yoangel La O each contributed home runs to the capital's offense.

For the defeated side, Frank David González hit his seventh home run of the championship and remained at the forefront of that category.

With these results, Pinar del Río leads the Western Zone with 8-1, followed by Matanzas (6-3), Cienfuegos and Industriales (5-4), Artemisa and Mayabeque (4-5), Villa Clara (3-6), and La Isla (1-8).

Santiago de Cuba leads the Eastern Zone with a record of 7-2, escorted by Ciego de Ávila (6-3), Sancti Spíritus, Granma, and Holguín (5-4), Las Tunas (4-5), Camagüey (3-6), and Guantánamo (1-8).