In a thriller that went right down to the wire, Cuba edged Toshiba-Japan 4-3 Saturday night at the World Baseball Challenge.
Pinch hitter Giorvis Duvergal's sharp grounder to shallow right field scored Rudy Reyes from third base in the bottom of the ninth inning, ending a highly entertaining game in front of about 1,900 spectators at Citizen Field.
Down to their last bat in the top half of the inning, Japan tied the game in dramatic fashion on a home run over the centrefield wall from Masato Okawara, who hammered a 1-2 pitch served up by Cuban closer Jonder Martinez.
Cuba had fought back from a one-run deficit with two runs in the seventh inning. Catcher Ariel Pestano, who won Olympic gold with the Cuban national team in 2004, took a pitch from Toshiba reliever Hayato Arakaki out of the park, and Cuba went ahead on a line-drive double to deep left field from Hector Olivera that scored pinch runner Reyes.
Japan took a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh, successfully pulling off a squeeze play. Yoshiyuki Igwa got his bat on a two-out bunt that scored Ryuta Matsunaga from third. That ended the night for Cuban starter Miguel Gonzalez.
An RBI single from Yusuke Kato delivered Masato for Japan's first run in the fourth inning.
Cuba got on the scoreboard first on a home-run offering in the second inning from Yulieski Gourriel, one of two runs charged to Kazuo Noda, who left the game in the seventh inning after allowing just four hits.
Gourriel was also a defensive star, making plays at third base that would likely earn him a ticket to a major league team if not for the political restrictions that prevent Cuban players from testing the free market.
Japan will face the Beijing Tigers in their next game Sunday at noon, followed by the Canada-Bahamas game at 3 p.m. Cuba will face Chinese Taipei Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
