(Tokyo) Alfredo Despaigne broke a tie with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning and Yoelkis Guibert followed that up with a two-run single, and Cuba advanced to the World Baseball Classic semifinals with a 4-3 win over Australia on Wednesday.
Being able to count on the contribution of major baseball players for the first time at the World Classic, the Cuban team will leave Tokyo and take the direction of Marlins Park in Miami.
On Sunday, the Cubans will face the winners of a quarter-final match there which is due to take place on Friday between the first-place team from Group D and the second-place club from Group C.
Rixon Wingrove, a former Philadelphia Phillies prospect, scored Australia’s first run of the game with a single in the second inning. He added a two-run homer in the sixth inning against Chicago Cubs pitcher Roenis Elias.
Australia put two runners on the trails later in the sixth inning before Elias forced Milwaukee Brewers prospect Alex Hall into center field.
Elias was perfect in the seventh inning, Livan Moinelo pulled out of the stalemate in the eighth after conceding two walks and Raidel Martinez retired the Aussies in order in the ninth, including Darryl George on three strikes for the final withdrawal from the game.
Luis Robert scored Cuba’s other run with an infield groundout in the third inning.
This is the first time since 2006 that Cuba has reached the semi-final round at the Classic. That year, the Cubans lost in the grand final against Japan.
“Cuban baseball fans are so emotional right now. They’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” manager Armando Johnson said.
“It’s a new page, a new chapter. »
Three other games are on the schedule today, including an important duel between Canada (2-1) and Mexico (2-1), in Group C, at 3 pm Quebec time.