HAVANA, Cuba, February 25 (ACN) The Cuban baseball team will play Nicaragua today in the third game of their friendly series leading up to the VI World Baseball Classic and intended to fine-tune their skills and improve their competitiveness.
More than just a friendly match, these games represent are pivotal to Team Cuba’s steps toward the aforesaid international competition, so every tactical decision carries weight and every at-bat can reveal certainties or raise doubts.
The four-game series started with a 2-2 tie that left mixed feelings and was followed by 3-1 Cuban victory achieved through well-measured pitching, patience at the home plate, and a decisive home run, a result that the Cuban coaches valued as revealing of the pitching staff’s ability to stifle the Nicaraguan bats in the crunch, whereas the batters made the most of both the host team’s errors to prevail.
Today’s pitcher for Cuba will be the left-hander Yoennis Yera, a veteran of 16 seasons in the Cuban National Series who has played in professional leagues in Mexico and Venezuela and whose style boasts experience and composure, a useful blend in this preparation phase.
The coaches’ analysis isn't limited to the result, as it also highlights the team's cohesion, the chemistry between promising young players and established veterans, and every athlete’s capability to respond in adverse situations, all of which is expected to contribute to the team’s confidence to compete in the Classic.
Therefore, this third game will also serve to assess tactical adjustments, defensive variables, lineup combinations, and bullpen management, for on the immediate horizon is not only Nicaragua, but also the rigor of a tournament that leaves no room for error, considering that the road to the WBC starts to be paved, pitch by pitch, long before the cry of ʽPlay ball!ʼ is heard.
Nos reservamos el derecho de no publicar los comentario que incumplan con las normas de este sitio