|
By Luis R. Varela, Associated Press Writer.
Yahoo!
News.
HAVANA - Cuba beat the Chunichi Dragons of Japan 14-2 Wednesday in the first
of two friendly matches celebrating 100 years of diplomatic relations.
The Cubans started the game, a warm up for this week's Intercontinental
Baseball Cup, on a strong note, scoring their first three runs in the first
inning against left-handed pitcher Takashi Ogasawara.
Barbaro Canizares brought the first two runs to home plate with the bases
loaded before rookie Kendry Morales scored the third.
Morales exploded in the third with another six runs in the matchup at
Havana's Latinoamericano stadium.
Doubles by Canizares and Oscar Macias later brought in two more runs, with
an additional run scored because of an error by referee Masajaro Araki.
The scene was then set for three more runs thanks to Yorelvis Charles, who
went up against relief pitcher Shin-Ichiro Koyama.
Cuban starter Vicyohandry Odelin pitched impeccably for four innings,
refusing to permit a single run before turning over the mound to relief pitcher
Orelvis Avila.
The Japanese players scored their first two runs in the eighth, one by
Kazujito Yoshimura and the other by Soo Tsutsui against Cuban reliever Pedro
Luis Lazo.
Dragons manager Hisashi Yamada told a post-game news conference that his
team "had no excuses for such a wide margin" in the final score. Cuban
manager Higinio Velez expressed satisfaction with his team's win, but added "we
know the score does not reflect how good the Japanese are."
Earlier, Dragons President Junnosuke Nishikawa said that more important than
winning would be the relationship that developed between the teams and their
individual players.
A second game will be played at the stadium Thursday night on the eve of the
Intercontinental Cup, which starts Friday.
The Dragons recently finished the season in third place in Japan's Central
League.
Nishikawa said the Dragons were still in discussions with the Cuban
government about whether Cuban player Omar Linares would play with the team
again next season.
Linares, long considered one of Cuba's best amateur baseball players, batted
.186 when he played with the Dragons last season, his first on a professional
team. | 
