TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan - Defending champion Japan secured its spot in the four-team Super Round of the WBSC Premier12 presented by RAXUS at Taipei City’s Tianmu Stadium on Sunday night with a hard-fought 7-6 victory over Cuba.
The win, at a rain-soaked Tianmu Stadium, improved Japan’s record in Group B qualifying round to 4-0 and eliminated Cuba (1-3) from any chance of advancing with one match remaining in the group stage for both teams.
The Cubans were trailing 5-1 in the sixth inning, but they rallied to even the score at six in the following inning. In the ninth inning, they had a chance to win the game when they loaded the bases against closer Shoma Fujihira with only one out. However, Fujihira ended the Cuban effort by striking out Yoán Moncada and Andy Cosme.
It was one of those games that you won't forget. It was perhaps the rain that made it closer or it was the teams, who fought like we hadn't seen in a long time to give a good show to the fans present at Tianmu.
Regarding the rain and its impact on the game, Japan's coach, Hirokazu Ibata, avoided giving credit to it regarding how hard the game was for his team. "The playing conditions were the same for both teams," he said through an interpreter. "The rain doesn't change anything. With or without rain, we still want our players to go out on the field and play hard."
That's exactly what the defending champions accomplished. Facing the inexperienced Cuban right-hander Raymond Figueredo, Japan gained a narrow lead in the bottom of the second inning, with Keita Sano hitting a single that allowed Shota Morishita to score from third.
In the third inning, Japan increased their lead. Masayuki Kuwahara started the inning with a single, followed by Kaito Kuzono's single to right field. Figueredo walked Ryosuke Tatsumi, loading the bases, prompting Cuba to turn to their bullpen. They called in right-hander Yusniel Padrón to face cleanup hitter Shota Morishita. However, Padrón couldn't stop another run as Morishita's pop-out to center field made it 2-0. The situation for Cuba could have been more dire, but left-hander Geonel Gutiérrez managed consecutive strikeouts against left-handed Ryoya Kurihara and right-handed Shugo Maki, minimizing the damage.
Cuba's first hit against left-handed starter Takahisa Hayakawa occurred in the third inning, courtesy of Roberto Baldoquín who led off the inning. However, Hayakawa swiftly struck out Andrys Pérez and induced Jean H. Walters to ground into a double play.
In the next inning, Cuba narrowed the gap. Roel Santos began the inning by hitting a triple off the center field wall on the third pitch he faced and scored shortly after when Yadir Drake singled to left.
A walk to Alfredo Despaigne advanced Drake to second base with the potential tying run, but Hayakawa struck out Ariel Martínez and Erisbel Arruebarrena to end the inning.
Two singles and a sacrifice fly to left by Toshiya Sato gave Japan a two-run lead again, thanks to shortstop Susuke Genda's speed in the bottom of the fourth. Japan extended their lead in the fifth inning when Ryosuke Tatsumi reached base with an infield hit, forcing reliever Geonel Gutiérrez out of the game.
Although right-hander Frank L. Medina got Morishita to ground out and intentionally walked Kurihara, he couldn't stop first baseman Shugo Maki's single, which made the score 4-1. Young left-hander Darío Sarduy came in to relieve him, but walked Genda, and despite getting designated hitter Keita Sano to fly out to center with excellent fielding by Roel Santos, he couldn't stop Japan from scoring their fifth run.
It seemed that the game was going smoothly for Japan, but the best was yet to come.
In the sixth inning, Cuba initiated a comeback by scoring three runs. Santos walked to lead off the inning, and Drake drove in his fifth run of the tournament with a double to left. Hayakawa struck out the struggling Yoelkis Guibert but then walked Alfredo Despaigne, leading to his swift replacement by Rikuto Yokohama.
Nonetheless, shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena, who had been one of Cuba's less productive players in the tournament, responded by hitting a single to left-center, altering the score to 5-3. Yoán Moncada was then brought in as a pinch hitter and hit a single to right field on the first pitch he saw, narrowing the game to 5-4 and leaving Arruebarrena at second base with the potential tying run.
Yokoyama issued a walk to Yadil Mujica, loading the bases, prompting Japan's manager to bring in left-hander Shota Suzuki to face the young Jean H. Walters, and halted the Cuban rally with a strikeout.
This was one of two instances where Cuba left the bases loaded during the game. When questioned about the primary reason for the loss, the Cuban manager refrained from pinpointing a specific cause, stating, "I don't believe it was any particular play. However, it's true that we missed preventing a few runs due to a lack of precision at certain moments in the game, but I don't want to specify anything. You watched the game."
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Japan regained a two-run lead when the Cuban manager brought in Liván Moinelo as a relief pitcher, as he had promised after the victory against Australia in the event of a close game. However, Moinelo, who had been dealing with a stomach issue all week—despite the Cuban manager's claims that Moinelo had the flu—did not display his usual command. He walked Masayuki Kuwahara and allowed a single to Kaito Kosono. A fly ball to center advanced Kuwahara to third, but Moinelo then loaded the bases hitting Shota Morishita and walking Ryoya Kurihara, giving Japan a 6-4 lead.
In the seventh inning, Cuba managed to secure a thrilling tie. Santos and Drake got on base at the start of the inning with a walk and a single, respectively. After Guibert's out — was 0-for-5 with two strikeouts in the game — right-hander Tatsuya Shimizu was brought in to pitch against Despaigne. Despite Shimizu inducing weak contact from Despaigne, he made a throwing error to first base, allowing both runners to score to tie the game.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Japan secured their victory against Moinelo, who was putting in a significant effort. Arruebarrena's fielding error allowed Kosono to reach first base, with Ryota Isobata coming in as a pinch runner. Moinelo then hit Ryosuke Tatsume, adding to the complications. Morishita's groundout advanced Isobata to third base, and he scored shortly after on Kurihara's sacrifice fly to left field.
"I was really afraid the ball was foul," Kurihara said at the postgame press conference. "I relaxed when I saw the ball was in good territory and I saw Isobata score the go-ahead run from third. It was a very intense game and we fought hard for the win. I'm excited to have driven in the decisive run."
To add to the excitement at the end, Cuba loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning against closer Shoma Fujihira. With one out, Despaigne and Ariel Martínez singled, Arruebarrena was hit by a pitch that loaded the bases, but Fujihira showed his class, striking out Moncada and Andy Cosme.
The loss eliminated Cuba from any opportunity to progress to the Super Round, with Japan and Chinese Taipei - who beat Australia 11-3 - advancing as the first and second teams, respectively, in Group B.
On Monday, Japan has the opportunity to remain unbeaten as it takes on the Dominican Republic at Tianmu Stadium. Meanwhile, Cuba will play against Chinese Taipei at the Taipei Dome at 6:30 p.m. (local time), 5:30 a.m. in Cuba and the Eastern US.
CUBA - JAPAN - Highlights
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