Another defeat against the local Navegantes de Magallanes prevented Cuba from advancing to the final of the Americas Series this Thursday. baseballwhich is held in the capital of Venezuela.
The hosts once again showed themselves superior in all aspects to the Cubans, especially with an offensive display of 17 hits, which allowed them to achieve a large success over the island’s representative with a score of 9-1, agency review Latin Press (PL).
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan pitchers left the Cuban hitters with just five hits, which thus added their fourth defeat in the event.
WE HAVE THE END OF THE AMERICAS SERIES!
Venezuela achieved its sixth consecutive victory, beating Cuba with a wide difference on the scoreboard. Now they will have to face Colombia in the Grand Final, who will win?
Courtesy:… pic.twitter.com/6Yl81tV0Bi
— BeisbolPlay (@beisbolplaycom) February 13, 2026
Those led by Germán Mesa were in charge of opening the scoring with a driving shot from outfielder Yoelquis Guibert, the best wood at the ready.
The hosts’ response was not long in coming, registering two runs against the pitches of starter Randy Cueto, who left the mound in the fourth inning after putting two men in circulation. Both scored thanks to Tucupita Marcano’s double against reliever Osdany Rodríguez.
Solo shots by Renato Núñez and former major leaguer Rougned Odor, this one in the eighth act as part of a cluster of four scores, put definitive numbers on the board.
Left-hander Adrián Almeida achieved success by allowing just one run in just over five innings, in which he struck out six. Four other pitchers from the Navegantes supported their work, by not allowing freedom to the Cuban hitters.
Dissatisfaction in the command position
Given what happened in the clash, and based on the performance throughout the entire tournament, Cuban manager Germán Mesa recognized Latin Press the superiority of the rival and was dissatisfied with what the team had achieved.
“The batting failed, the pitching failed too. They played better than us, they surpassed us in the fundamental aspects of baseball,” he said.
He also recognized that in the crucial duel the pitchers could not fulfill what had been demanded of them, and that the group also did not manage to reach the objective with which they arrived in Caracas.
“I am not used to discussing third places. Our idea was to go and discuss first place, but with the team that we have third place is not bad, although I am not satisfied, I aspired for a little more,” he added.
Germán Mesa on Cuba in the Classic: “Who can stop us from winning?”
Duel for the podium
The Cuban team has in its hands to say goodbye to the tournament with a place on the podium, but to do so it needs to win and take revenge against the Águilas Metropolitanas of Panama.
That team dominated the qualifying section, but this Thursday they lost 4-6 in the semifinal against the Caimanes de Barranquilla who represent Colombia, whom they Cuba had defeated a day before.
So far the Cubans have only been able to achieve victory in three of the seven matches held, although in two they fell by the slightest difference.
Cuba attended the contest with a team that included players who will be present in the VI World Baseball Classic (WBC)and that they will repeat in the team that will soon hold four friendly duels against the Nicaraguan team in that Central American nation.
For the island team, the journey in the Classic will begin at the beginning of March in San Juan, Puerto Rico, headquarters of group A, which also makes up the hosts, plus the teams from Canada, Panama and Colombia.
