Cuba's '36.2 billion' ace endured abdominal pain and struggled hard... even took pain from Japanese players
Cuba's '36.2 billion' ace endured abdominal pain and struggled hard... even took pain from Japanese players
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Cuban national baseball ace Livan Moinello (Softbank Hawks) showed his fighting spirit for his country despite his poor physical condition. Moreover, he showed off his sportsmanship worrying about even the opposing team's players who were injured due to his poor control of the ball.
Cuba lost to Japan 6-7 in the fourth Group B match of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12 at Tenmu Baseball Stadium in Taipei, Japan on the 17th (Korea time).
Cuba's loss at the match against Japan on the day prevented the team from advancing to the Super Round (semi-finals) regardless of the result of its final group match against Taiwan on Wednesday. The 2024 Premier 12 will be divided into two groups of six countries, and the top two countries will compete in the Super Round for the championship.
Cuba's defeat eliminated the "number of cases" of Korea's advance to the Super Round. If Cuba had defeated Japan, Korea could have secured a dramatic second place ranking depending on the results of the match between Japan and the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Taiwan after winning the match on July 18.
South Korea was unable to advance to the Super Round on its own due to its 3-6 defeat against Taiwan on the 13th and 3-6 defeat against Japan on the 15th. Japan and Taiwan beat Cuba and Australia respectively on the 17th, confirming their elimination from the group stage.
Although Cuba did not overcome Japan's barrier, it was able to score well enough in its performance. Notably, it recovered three points at the top of the sixth inning when it was losing 1-5, and added two more points at the top of the seventh inning when it was losing 4-6.
Monello, who started the game against South Korea on the 14th and was sluggish with six runs in two innings, took the mound after two days of rest. From the bottom of the sixth inning when Cuba was losing 1-5, he took the mound and allowed one hit, three walks, three strikeouts, and two runs (one earned run) in three innings until the bottom of the eighth inning, creating a bruise of defeat.
Monello and Cuba felt much regret about their defense in the bottom of the eighth inning. Monello induced leadoff hitter Kozono Kaito to hit an infield grounder, but allowed him to get on base due to shortstop error.
Monello was shaken up. The situation worsened to the first and second bases with no outs when pinch hitter Ryosuke Tatsumi was sent to the first base by a pitch. Monello was eventually hit by an RBI sacrifice fly by Ryoya Kurihara with runners on the first and third bases with one out. The score changed back to Cuba's 6-7.
In the top of the ninth inning, Cuba had a chance to come from behind with one out and one out in the final attack of the regular inning, but ended up on its knees as Moncada Yoan and Cosme Andi struck out in succession. Despite strong pitching, Moeenello failed to block his country from losing.
Monello, however, is not currently in his normal condition. The Cuban media reported that he was suffering from the flu, but it was revealed that he had a stomachache.
"He was running with a stomachache," Japanese baseball media Full Count said after the game between Japan and Cuba on Thursday. "He denied that it was the flu that was reported in some cases. However, he was not in good physical condition." 토토사이트
The full count went on to say that Moeenello showed no results even in his out-and-out fight. Cuba has been eliminated, adding that Moeenello said, "It's tough because we lost, but I feel good. Japan is strong."
It was also known through a report by "Full Count" that Monello visited the opponent's dugout after the match against Japan. Monello wanted to check the condition of Ryosuke Tatsumi, who was replaced by a pinch runner after being hit by his own sand dune in the bottom of the eighth inning.