TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan - The Dominican Republic overcame a 1-0 deficit by scoring late against Cuba. Their bullpen delivered three solid innings as the neighboring Caribbean team secured a crucial first victory with a 6-1 win in the opening game of Group B in the WBSC Premier12 presented by RAXUS. The game took place at Tianmu Stadium in Taipei City on Wednesday night.
In a game where the Cuban offense failed to show up, stranding ten runners on base and going 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position, the Dominican Republic capitalized on the opportunities provided by a struggling Cuban relief pitching to emerge victorious in a significant match for the Cuban team.
The Cubans find themselves in a challenging situation after the defeat, as they are set to play against South Korea at the Tianmu Stadium on Thursday. South Korea has been their nemesis in previous Premier12 editions, and the Cubans are aiming to prevent starting the tournament with two consecutive losses.
The extensive discussion regarding Armando Johnson's decision not to start the first game for Cuba with star pitcher Liván Moinelo was put to rest. Yoennis Yera, the Cuban starter, delivered an outstanding performance against the Dominicans by pitching six scoreless innings with five strikeouts, no walks, and only five hits. This exceptional display dispelled any doubts about his selection, effectively ending the debate.
By the end of the fifth inning, Yera had been effective, throwing 60 pitches, 43 of which were strikes. He had only given up two hits and no walks. Despite this, he had not achieved any progress towards securing a win. Even after completing six innings with 70 pitches, during which he allowed three hits and recorded five strikeouts, the score remained deadlocked at zero.
Yera later revealed to the online Cuban publication Jit about his outing "I concentrated on each batter and every pitch, which is how I achieved success. I relied on targeting the strike zone of each batter, as I was familiar with some but not all of them. My focus was on putting in the effort, and it paid off."
Right after leaving the game, Cuba's offense set him up for a potential victory. In the sixth inning, facing Wily Peralta Alfredo Despaigne secured his second hit of the game, a single on Peralta's 78th pitch that resulted in Peralta being replaced. Gerald Ogando's entry into the game added complexity as he hit Ariel Martinez and allowed a single to Yadir Drake, loading the bases and leading to another call to the Dominican bullpen.
Former MLB reliever Joely Rodriguez entered the game. While facing Yoelkis Guibert, he threw a wild pitch that allowed Despaigne to score from third, resulting in the first run of the game. Despite the 1-0 score, Joely managed to effectively handle the two left-handed batters he faced. Initially, he struck out Guibert, and then, after intentionally walking Perez, he efficiently managed Mujica by getting him to hit a ground ball to first base.
After the game, Peralta would say about his start against Cuba “It was an excellent game and both starters did an excellent job. In the first innings it wasn’t as I would have liked, they – the Cuban hitters – managed to make great contacts, but I had the opportunity to make adjustments and throw a quality start.” To a question I asked him about his work with the two strikeouts against Yoán Moncada, especially in the fifth inning, when Cuba had the opportunity to take the lead, Peralta responded “It was extremely important for me, since I have faced him a lot. I had a plan from the beginning, on how to attack him and I was going to die with my best pitch in that situation.”
Indeed, the Cuban team appeared to be proactive in their offensive efforts against the Dominican starting pitcher from the beginning. They successfully got three runners on base within the first two innings, with one of them in a scoring position during the first inning. The solid hits made it seem like Peralta's time on the mound could be limited. Nevertheless, after five innings, the score stayed the same, with the Dominican right-handed pitcher excelling in crucial situations, having allowed five runners on base, two of whom reached scoring position.
Following Yera's departure, Leodan Reyes took over as the first Cuban reliever. He began the seventh inning strongly by retiring the first two batters, striking out one. However, things took a turn for the worse when Reyes walked Pedro González. After a grueling fifteen-pitch battle against Ricardo Céspedes, he also ended up walking him, placing the tying run on second base. Shortly after, the pivotal hit that changed the score occurred. Pinch-hitter Arismendy Alcántara delivered a single to center field, bringing in the tying run with González and the go-ahead run following an error by Yoelkis Guibert in center field.
Regarding Céspedes' turn at bat, the Dominican mentor himself, Cesar Martín, said after the game "It was one of the key moments of the game, the battle that Céspedes put up, allowing the pinch-hitter Alcántara to come in later with his hit."
Trailing 2-1, Cuba missed a significant chance in the seventh inning. Joely began the inning by walking Santos and allowing a single from Moncada to center field. However, facing the new pitcher, right-hander Robert Corniel, Arruebarena struck out first, followed by Despaigne grounding into a double play via 543, marking another crucial moment in the game. For many, including myself, this was one of those occasions where the team could have sacrificed Arruebarrena to advance the runners. The play could have prevented a double play with Despaigne at bat and both runners in scoring position, while also prolonging Cuba's batting order.
In the eighth and ninth innings, the Dominican Republic would secure the final score by taking advantage of the ineffective Cuban relief pitching.
In the eighth inning, Frank A. Alvarez, who was brought in from the bullpen, efficiently recorded two outs but then issued a walk. He then conceded a ground-rule double to right field by Andretty Cordero, followed by an RBI single to the left by Rainer Nunez. Although the situation could have escalated, Yankiel Mauris ended the inning with just one pitch, inducing Gonzalez to ground out to third base.
In the ninth, three runs against Yankiel Mauris would seal the final score.
The Dominican relief pitching took charge from there, shutting down the Cuban offense. Thanks to the combined efforts of Robert Corniel and Diego Castillo, they delivered three impressive scoreless innings, preventing the Cubans from having any hits and enabling their offense to maintain pressure, securing the crucial first victory.
Joely Rodriguez, with his work of just 2/3 innings of one hit, with one walk and two strikeouts, took the win, while Leodan Reyes took the loss, Cuba's sixth in 10 games in Premier12 editions.
After the tough defeat, Team Cuba must turn the page, to face a tough rival in South Korea this Thursday.
The match is scheduled for 6:00 pm (local time), 5:00 am (Cuba and Eastern US time).
REPUBLICA DOMINICANA - CUBA - Highlights
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