The team that will represent Cuba in the V World Baseball Classic gave way for the second time in the section of the preparation carried out in taiwanwhere he lost this Monday with a score of 1-3 again against the Guardians of Fubon, a cast of the professional league of that Asian nation.
The lack of timely hits, together with defensive failures, weighed again in the fourth successive setback of the Cuban team in Asian lands, where several of its main figures have not yet arrived, according to a note published by the sports portal Hit.
#elCubaClasico suffered another setback in Taiwan
Fubon Guardians took the win for the second day in a row. This Tuesday the Caribbean will compete with Dragons of Wei Chuan. #Cuba #baseball #WorldBaseballClassic #CubanBaseballhttps://t.co/3i660FIzlm pic.twitter.com/NR1gEn6LMI— JIT Cuban Sport (@jit_digital) February 27, 2023
In the city of Taipei, the Creoles took control in the second inning, when Jhang Jin-De hit a home run with a run. That was the only one admitted by the opener and loser, José Ramón Rodríguez, who covered four chapters without other big surprises, adds the media.
The remaining scores were recorded one inning later by reliever Naykel Cruz after two hits that followed shortstop Erisbel Arruebarruena’s error on a conducive connection to get two outs.
Liván Moinelo and Franklyn Quintana completed the pitching task of the Cuban team without problems, which scored its only run in the game during the eighth inning after a sacrifice fly by Arruebarruena himself, which boosted outfielder Roel Santos.
The American starter, Mattew Kent and five relievers managed to space out the impact of the seven hits from the players led by Armando Johnson, who left six runners on base.
According to HitFormer home run star Orestes Kindelán, hitting coach of the Cuban team, was optimistic and pointed out that hitters should show “a more aggressive attitude in certain situations, particularly when zone shipments are not given.”
The Cuban team will play again this Tuesday to face the Wei Chuan Dragons, in the third of the four exhibition duels agreed with clubs from the Taiwanese professional league.
In the initial duel, the Cubans lost with a score of 2-1 against the Guardians, and their only score came thanks to a solitary home run by Alfredo Despaigne from Granma.
Before reaching the Asian nation, he played five preparation matches in the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa against teams from the professional league of that country, with a balance of two successes and three defeats.
Starting next March 4, the squad belonging to Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises will join the squad, who will be able to participate in two other duels in the city of Taichung, which will host group A of the World Classic.
In that tournament Cuba has set its debut on March 8 with the representative of the Netherlands as a rival.
