HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 13 (acn) Israel remains undefeated when beating 4-1 Cuba in the first game of the second round of the 4th World Baseball Classic (WBC), in game that took place at the Tokyo Dome stadium in the Japanese capital city.
Cuba took the lead in the second inning when LF Alfredo Despaigne hit a solo homer off veteran Jason Marquis, who achieves more than 100 wins in MLB, but that was all the Israeli pitching staff allowed to the Cuban lineup.
Israelis tied 1-1 in the fourth off Noelvis Entenza, Cuban starting pitcher, thanks to an RBI-double by Ryan Lavarnway, MVP of the 1st round of the event.
The Middle East squad, although most of its players were born in USA, managed to take the lead in the sixth frame when scoring twice against Cuban relievers Yoanni Yera and Jose Garcia, who allowed one run each.
The Caribbean side had an excellent opportunity to score in the eighth, but 1B William Saavedra grounded out to second with the bases loaded, while Israel scored its 4th and final run through an amazing squeeze play in the bottom of that same inning.
The win went to the reliever Zach Thornton while lefty Yera took his second loss of the contest.
On their next outing, Israel will face the Netherlands, whom they already beat in the initial phase 4-2, while Cuba will rival Japan, its executioner (6-11) in the first round.
Boxscore:
123 456 789 R H E
Cuba 010 000 000 1 5 1
Israel 000 102 01x 4 5 0
W: Zach Thornton (1-0)
L: Yoanni Yera (0-2)
S: Josh Zaid (2)
Hr: Alfredo Despaigne (3)
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