Havana, February 12 (RHC) – Cuba defeated the Colombian Caimanes de Barranquilla 8-7 at the Fórum La Guaira stadium and secured the last available ticket to the semifinals of the Series of the Americas.
With the Caribbean Sea as a backdrop, the Cuban offense bombarded the Colombian team early, scoring seven runs in the first five innings to establish dominance.
The starting pitcher, Yoryi Simarra, who took the loss, allowed the first three runs, two of them driven in by a single and a home run from Alfredo Despaigne, and another thanks to a single by Yoelquis Guibert.
His replacement, Henderson Álvarez, came in to relieve him in the fourth inning, but surrendered a two-run homer to Harold Vázquez. An inning later, Yoel Yanqui punished him with another solo shot, this time with the bases loaded.
Starting pitcher Darío Sarduy pitched four innings, striking out five and allowing two runs, but his replacement, Luis Vázquez, was left by a three-run homer to Carlos Martínez in the bottom of the second inning, narrowing the score.
Supported by the Cuban fans perched atop the first-base dugout, Germán Mesa’s team scored their final run in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly by Roel Santos, with Ezequiel Zabaleta on the opposite side of the mound.
José Ignacio Bermúdez pitched a perfect inning, Yankiel Mauris recorded five outs to earn the save, and Yunier Batista surrendered a two-run single to Martínez before José Manuel Rodríguez retired the final batter to secure the save.
After the game, manager Mesa assessed his team’s performance and acknowledged the ongoing difficulties, particularly on the mound.
“It was a good game, we hit well, but we continue to face problems with our pitching. The guys are doing what they can; we can’t really blame them for anything else. The pitching is doing its best,” he stated.
Mesa emphasized that the main objective had already been achieved, although he admitted the emotional toll of the journey. “You suffer a little, no, you suffer quite a lot, you know how the tension is, but it’s step by step. We’ve already accomplished the first step, now we’ll see how we do tomorrow,” he said.
With their sights set on the semifinals, the manager assured that his team will come out with greater ambition. “We’re always going to come out with more, we’re going to come out with more. We’re going with Randy Cueto tomorrow,” he concluded.
Cuba finished the qualifying stage in third place, with a 3-3 record, and will face the second-place team, the hosts Navegantes de Magallanes, tomorrow. The other matchup for a spot in the final will be between the leaders, Águilas Metropolitanas de Panamá, and the Colombian team.
