Braddock Blanks Coral Gables 2-0 In Game Of The Week

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Somewhere around the fourth inning Braddock starter Alex Martinez let his coach know that he was good to go the whole way. In a tight and exciting district showdown against Coral Gables, Martinez wanted the responsibility to win or lose on his shoulders. Facing a district rival Friday morning in the HSBN Miami-Dade Game of the Week at Marlins Park magnified the atmosphere, but the Braddock coaches showed confidence that they had the right Bulldog on the mound.

Martinez rewarded that faith by going the distance for a complete-game shutout and a huge 2-0 victory over the Cavaliers. The final out was a liner into the glove of shortstop Nelson Alvarez, and the Bulldogs rushed to the mound to congratulate Martinez while the hundreds of Braddock fans in the stands roared their approval.

“This was the best thing of my life and I had never done anything like this,” Alex Martinez said. “I was working the plate inside and outside, and I was using my changeup a lot and my curveball was good. Everything was good today. It was a money day. It feels great.”

Martinez went seven strong and recorded seven strikeouts. The right-hander scattered four hits, two walks and two hit batters, but was backed by a strong defense that threw out four base runners to keep the Cavaliers off the scoreboard. Nelson Alvarez supplied the big hit for the offense to drive in the deciding run.

“In our district, every win is big. But obviously this has a little more taste to it,” Braddock Manager Manny Fernandez said. “Playing here at Marlins Park was a great thrill for everybody. Our crowd was phenomenal. I think their crowd outnumbered us a little bit, but I think we sat in the sun all game while they were in the shade. Maybe that was the answer for us. But it was a great team effort.”

Braddock moved into a tie with Columbus for first place in District 8A-15 with a perfect 5-0 mark. The Bulldogs (7-3) will host the Explorers in a battle for first place next week, and the team figures to carry some momentum from its current five-game winning streak.

“The kids are playing well together,” Fernandez said. “They are believing and they’re buying into the new coaching staff with what we do and say. I tell them it is just one game; enjoy the heck out of it and then we have to get back to work on Monday.”

Coral Gables (4-3, 3-2) has now suffered two close losses to the team’s it trails in the district. The Cavaliers know they are still right there in the thick of the hunt, and a big part of that comes in the strength of Friday’s starter, Andrew Cabezas. Cabezas went the distance in the loss, surrendering two earned runs on five hits. The gritty righty struck out seven and walked none.

Despite several base runners for both sides early on, both starters faced exactly the minimum batters through the first four innings. Gables threatened to break the scoreless tie in the top of the fifth when Franky Montesino and Elijah Eusebio strung a pair of base hits together, but Morales got a fly out and a strikeout to escape the jam unscathed.

Braddock struck for the day’s only runs in its half of the fifth. Jean Marcel Martinez singled on a slow roller to third, bringing Nelson Alvarez to the plate. With the count full Nelson put a solid swing to split the left-center field gap, allowing Jean Marcel to come all the way around and score from first base on the RBI double.

“I had to come through,” Nelson said. “Both pitchers pitched an incredible game and I had to do something. So I stayed close and expected a fastball on a 3-2 count. It felt amazing, and I knew my team was behind me. My pitcher had a great game and all we needed was one run, and that’s what happened.”

Elier Acosta accounted for a valuable insurance run, after he came in to run for Nelson. Steven Barreto singled to left field to move Acosta to third, and a base-running misstep turned into a stroke of fortune when Acosta was awarded home on a fielder’s interference call.

Staked with a lead, Alex stayed on the hill to finish off the final two frames. He escaped trouble on a strike-‘em-out, throw-‘em-out double play that ended the eighth. It was the fourth time catcher Evan Valverde gunned down a base runner, and the Braddock defense also threw out a runner advancing to third base in the second.

It was exactly the sort of effort Alex Martinez needed to give him the extra fire to keep going. The Bulldogs have been playing great team baseball this season, and they are competing for one another.

“I just battle here, and they battle with me,” Alex Martinez said. “They are with me the whole game and I am with them the whole game.”

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