Cuba reached the WBC semifinal stage after 17 years. It was a revival of Cuban baseball. All three fastball players active in Japanese professional baseball were dispatched and led the team to advance to the semifinals.
Cuba defeated Australia 4-3 in the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) held at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 15th. With this, Cuba announced the revival of Cuban baseball by advancing to the WBC semifinals for the first time in 17 years since the runner-up in the 2006 tournament.
Australia belonged to Group B in the first round, defeated Korea in the first match, and advanced to the quarterfinals with a record of 3 wins and 1 loss in second place in the group round. It was Australia’s first round pass in WBC history. Australia started Stephen Kent. Tim Kennelly (right field) Alex Hall (designated hitter) Robbie Glendining (second baseman) Darryl George (third baseman) Aaron Whitefield (center fielder) Rickson Wingrove (firstbaseman) Logan Wade (shortstop) Glenn Perkins (catcher) Ulrich Bo The lineup was set up with Jarski (left fielder).
Cuba passed as first place, leading in the lowest scoring rate in Group A, where all five countries had a record of 2 wins and 2 losses. Yariel Rodriguez starts. Rodriguez, who has been playing for the Japanese professional baseball Chunichi Dragons since 2020, was a special setup man with an average ERA of 1.15 with 6 wins, 2 losses and 39 holds in 56 games last year. His main weapon is a fastball with a maximum speed of 161 km. In his first match against the Netherlands on the 8th, he pitched 4 innings, giving up 3 hits, 1 strikeout, 1 walk, 2 walks and 1 run in 4 innings. Roel Santos (left fielder) Yoann Moncada (third baseman) Luis Roberts (center fielder) Alfredo Despaigne (designated hitter) Erisbel Arruevarena (shortstop) Yoelkiss Guibert (right fielder) Ariel Martinez (catcher) Yadir Drake (1) Baseman) Yadil Muhica (2nd baseman) started.
Stormy Australia took the lead. In the top of the 2nd inning, lead batter George’s huge double hit the top of the wall in the middle, and Aaron Whitefield’s sacrifice bunt gave him a chance to go 1 out and 3 base, and Wingrove’s right-handed hit scored the first run.
Cuba also managed to tie the game in the bottom of the third. With a walk by lead batter Santos and a double hit by Moncada directly against the left wall, he had a chance to secure 2nd and 3rd base. Robert hit a shortstop grounder and managed to bring in a runner on third base. The score was tied 1-1, but after that, Despaigne and Aruel Barrena retired with a ground ball to second baseman and a strikeout, respectively, and no additional points were scored.
In the end, Cuba turned the game around in the bottom of the 5th inning. Santos’ heavy hit, Moncada’s walk, and Robert’s bases loaded opportunity with Despaigne’s sacrifice fly to right field took a 2-1 lead. In the continued 1st, 1st and 2nd base opportunities, Aruebarena’s left-handed hit continued the 1st bases full opportunity, and Yoelkiss Gibert’s 2 RBIs and a timely hit to the right broke out and ran away to 4-1.
However, Australia also caught up with potential. In the top of the 6th inning after the run, Whitefield’s shortstop infield hit made a safe first base opportunity, and Wingrove fired a superior two-run four and pursued with a one-run lead again.
Cuba risked life and death to keep the score difference.스포츠토토 Last year, with the Softbank Hawks of the Japanese professional baseball team, he posted 24 saves and put Livan Moinello, a fastball who recorded a total of 122 holds in Japan, on the mound. He shook it with two walks in the 8th inning, but he overcame the crisis by raising his speed to 154 km in a crisis with 1 company and 1st and 2nd base.
And last year, too, Rydel Martinez, who recorded an average ERA of 0.97 with 39 saves in Nippon Professional Baseball, took the mound. Blocked the other Australian line and confirmed advance to the quarterfinals.
Cuba is now heading to Miami, USA, where the quarterfinals will be held.