Defensive errors and poor batting led Cuba to its first defeat, against Nicaragua 1x3, in the 2022 Pan American Baseball Under-23 Championship to be held in Mexico until next Sunday.
Havana, June 14 (RHC)-- Defensive errors and poor batting led Cuba to its first defeat, against Nicaragua 1x3, in the 2022 Pan American Baseball Under-23 Championship to be held in Mexico until next Sunday.
Very selective at times and with swings too wide at others, the Island's hitters also faced some destabilizing counts by the main umpire.
In any case, only five hits and two errors in the field turned out to be a fatal combination against a Nicaraguan team that produced what was necessary and presented a dominant pitching.
Left-hander Danilo Bermudez pitched 4.1 innings with some complications, but he stuck his arm in every time appealing to his good sinker and above all to his control at the corners. He recorded seven strikeouts against three hits and two tickets.
Cuba was only able to score one run against the "siniestro" -debutante today in the contest- in the conclusion of the fourth inning, thanks to a long home run through the center field by Javier Carabeo, his third of the contest.
For the rest of the way, Central American mentor Sandor Guido used Milton Quintana (0.2 ENT), Álvaro Amador (1.2 ENT, 2H) and Wilfredo Miranda (0.1).
Johnson's boys threatened in the sixth inning with two outs on the board, due to Carabeo's ticket and Alejandro Escobar's single to left field. However, Amador left Yoandry Guibert with the bat on his shoulder, on a pitch on the outside corner that did not please the Caribbean bench at all.
This situation would cost, in the following chapter, the expulsion of the Cuban pitching coach, the giant Pedro Luis Lazo, who visited the box to change the pitcher and reiterated to the umpire that the pitch had been bad. Nothing more, but he went to the showers....
In the seventh and last episode, Christian Rodriguez hit his second homer of the game and revived hopes with just one out on the board. But Yuri Fernandez struck out against the closer Miranda, Francisco Venecia negotiated a ticket and Luis Rojas hit a line drive to the bartender to bring down the curtains of the game.
The Nicaraguans had scored in the fourth and fifth innings. The first against the Island's starter, Cienfuegos' Luis Serpa, who allowed a triple by Elián Miranda and then a triple by José Hurtado. From there, he went to the showers with three innings pitched, the same number of allowed hits, two tickets and a couple of strikeouts.
Yosvany Ávalos came to his rescue and momentarily solved the Nicaraguan rebellion, but in the next act he held Cristian Sandoval's hit, transferred Saul Orozco and Wandley Oncon touched the sacrifice fly to third base and an error occurred on a throw to first base. Sandoval scored. Then a fielder's choice put the final score at Orozco's feet.
After this outcome Cuba accumulates 3-1 and is in second place in the standings led by Mexico with 4-0, after beating Venezuela 14 x 0. This Tuesday our team will face the weak Guatemala at the Estadio Ferrocarrilero at 12 noon local time, one more on the Island.
SCORE PER INNINGS
Nicaragua 000 120 0 3-5-0
Cuba 000 100 0 1-5-2
Won: Milton Quintana
Lost: Yosvani Ávalos
S: Wilfredo Miranda
Source: JIT.
