Havana, March 8 (RHC) – Cuba defended its undefeated record by defeating Colombia 7-4 today, adding its second victory in the VI World Baseball Classic and consolidating its path in Group A.
Under the warm skies of Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Germán Mesa’s team was sustained by their pitching prowess and an offense that found the necessary sparks to tip the scales in a duel that demanded patience, composure, and cool heads.
The Colombians capitalized on the wildness of starting pitcher Denny Larrondo, who issued three walks at the beginning of the game, to score early; but the lead lasted less than a moment.
Two home runs by Ariel Martínez—with two bases loaded—and Erisbel Arruebarrena drove in four runs, blasting Luis Patiño off the mound and giving the Colombians the decisive lead.
Larrondo pitched two hitless innings; Yariel Rodríguez pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts, but Pedro Santos—who issued three walks and allowed a single—left the mound in the sixth inning with a runner on first, who later scored on a sacrifice fly by Tito Polo.
Darién Nuñez managed to close out the inning, before an error by the center fielder allowed Cuba to score three more runs in the sixth, two of them driven in by a triple from Yiddi Cappé off a pitch from Ezequiel Zabaleta, the third reliever used by José Mosquera’s squad.
Enmanuel Chapman couldn’t hold on on the mound, and the Colombians, with two walks, two hits, and a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded, manufactured two runs in the seventh.
Luis Romero extinguished the Colombian offense, and Yoan López and Raidel Martínez took care of the rest. The latter issued the tenth walk for Cuban pitching that day, but struck out two batters.
With this victory, the largest of the Antilles confirms that it has arrived in San Juan determined to advance without hesitation and to play with the composure of teams that carry years of baseball experience and know how to navigate the tightrope of major events.
In this group, Puerto Rico and Cuba now lead the standings with a 2-0 record, while Canada is 1-0, Panama is 0-2, and Colombia is eliminated at 0-3, as the tournament begins to tighten like a knot in the throat of the contenders.
