Sports Writing, Mar 19 (EFE).- At the point of batting, with two home runs by Trea Turner, another by Paul Goldschmidt and one by Cedric Mullins, the United States advanced for the second time to the final of the World Baseball Classic by winning this Sunday Cuba 2-14 at LoanDepot Park in Miami.
In an unprecedented match in the World Classic, the ninth American, who had just eliminated Venezuela a day earlier, did not show signs of fatigue and showed why she is the current champion.
Now Mark DeRosa’s team will face the winner of Monday’s clash between Japan and Mexico in the final next Tuesday.
The match was played in the midst of protests led by members of the Cuban exile in Miami.
DeRosa started with Adam Wainwright and for Cuba Armando Johnson sent Roenis Elías to the mound.
The island’s team attacked from the first inning when they took the bases after singles by Roel Santos, Yoán Moncada and Luis Robert Jr. Then Alfredo Despaigne was walked and Santos scored the first run of the game.
But the United States was not far behind and rallied when Mookie Betts received Elias with a double and Goldschmidt homered off him.
Another home run, this time by Turner, made it 1-3 in the second inning.
Miguel Romero came on for Elías in the third inning, but set the ranch on fire and the United States threatened to continue long.
What he achieved with a hit by Pete Alonso so that the fourth came with Nolan Arenado. Romero was asked for the ball and Carlos Viera came in to calm the tide, but Kyle Schwarber scored the fifth run on Tim Anderson’s sacrifice fly.
Cuba could not find how to dominate its rival that in the fourth inning made two more with Goldschmidt and Arenado.
Against 1-7, Johnson’s team, which arrived rested from its last game on Wednesday in Tokyo, had already used four pitchers in four innings, after the entry of Ronald Bolaños who got the last out of that period. .
Cuba took a breath and scored the second run thanks to two of its major leagues: a hit by Andy Ibáñez against Miles Mikolas that Moncada took advantage of to reach home.
But DeRosa’s men added two more in the fifth inning against Elián Leyva after Goldschmidt’s single.
Turner homered again and three more ‘stripes’ entered the American register. Almost immediately, Mike Trout started Frank Álvarez with a double that marked the thirteenth run at Betts’ feet.
In the eighth inning Cedric Mullins hit a solitary home run for the final 2-14 that gave the United States a pass to the final, which only used three pitchers who were measured thanks to their effectiveness and the wide advantage that their bats gave them.
While Cuba used seven pitchers and although they had twelve hits, their offense was sterile.
