Each team has played 30 games in the Division de Honor, but the outcome of the Spanish championship goes down till the last doubleheader of the season. The FC BARCELONA, who is currently two games behind in second, is host to the MARLINS PUERTO CRUZ, the reigning title holder.
The first game is scheduled for Saturday, August 9 at 18:00 CET, the second for Sunday, August 10 at 10:00 CET. You can follow the games live on the radio (for Spanish speaking people) or via live play-by-play on the federation website.
It is pretty simple. BARCELONA has to win both games to move into first place and to win the championship. If the MARLINS take away at least one victory, than they are going to defend their title. Both teams swept their doubleheaders a week ago and split the first matchup between the two contenders in April.
The probable starters for BARCA are Homer Baez (11-1, ERA 0.91) and Remigio Leal (5-2, ERA 1.78). They are going to be opposed by Leslie Nacar (9-1, ERA 1.10) and Ivan Granados (12-1, ERA 1.78).
Offensive wise Jesus Golindano (.421, 27 runs, 24 RBI) and Oscar Roman (.421, 18 runs, 20 RBI) are carrying the big bats for the Catalonians. PUERTO CRUZ relies mainly on Richard Montiel (.373, 8 homeruns, 24 runs, 30 RBI) and Dewis Navarro (.339, 24 runs, 25 RBI).
BARCELONA is hitting .278 (OBP .366/SLG .349) as a team and features a league leading ERA of 1.47. The MARLINS have a combined batting average of .300 (.363/.402) with a team ERA of 1.53.
This duel on the last game day, between the first two in the standings, with the championship on the line, is going to be thrilling.
{mrb-schedule:2008-08-09|2008-08-10|ES}
{mrb-standing:spain-2008}