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Cuba and Japan in Baseball Olympic History
Cuban baseball team will make its debut, this Wednesday against Japan, one of the strongest teams for Cuba in
Olympic history, since the first time baseball was included in this kind of event, Barcelona 1992.
Olympic history, since the first time baseball was included in this kind of event, Barcelona 1992.
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ACN
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Cuban baseball team will make its debut, this Wednesday against Japan, one of the strongest teams for Cuba in
Olympic history, since the first time baseball was included in this kind of event, Barcelona 1992.
Cuban and Japanese have played each other five times in Summer Games, with favorable balance to Cubans 4-1, with a loss the last time they played in Athens 2004.
That time, the Japanese squad beat the Caribbean team 6-3, with Cuban hitters looking helpless against pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, currently with the Boston Red Sox in the US Major Leagues.
In the Olympic debut in Barcelona, where Cuba won its first gold medal, Cuban pitcher Giorgi Diaz led his team to an 8-2 victory, with two home-runs by Omar Linares and one by Antonio Pacheco, Cuba’s manager to Beijing.
Atlanta witnessed two games between this two teams, first in the qualifiers and then in the finals, both times victory for the Cubans.
The first match went to extra innings, and Cuba won 8-7 with a homer by Cuban fourth hitter Kindelan and the gold-discussion game finished 13 to 9 with a record 3 home-runs in one game by Omar Linares, one to each field.
Cuba lost the title to US in Sydney, but Cuba beat Japan 3-0 in that tournament.
To win the title this time in Beijing Cuba should beat Japan in the opening game to win in confidence and to have a chance of qualifying in a good position to the semi-finals.
Olympic history, since the first time baseball was included in this kind of event, Barcelona 1992.
Cuban and Japanese have played each other five times in Summer Games, with favorable balance to Cubans 4-1, with a loss the last time they played in Athens 2004.
That time, the Japanese squad beat the Caribbean team 6-3, with Cuban hitters looking helpless against pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, currently with the Boston Red Sox in the US Major Leagues.
In the Olympic debut in Barcelona, where Cuba won its first gold medal, Cuban pitcher Giorgi Diaz led his team to an 8-2 victory, with two home-runs by Omar Linares and one by Antonio Pacheco, Cuba’s manager to Beijing.
Atlanta witnessed two games between this two teams, first in the qualifiers and then in the finals, both times victory for the Cubans.
The first match went to extra innings, and Cuba won 8-7 with a homer by Cuban fourth hitter Kindelan and the gold-discussion game finished 13 to 9 with a record 3 home-runs in one game by Omar Linares, one to each field.
Cuba lost the title to US in Sydney, but Cuba beat Japan 3-0 in that tournament.
To win the title this time in Beijing Cuba should beat Japan in the opening game to win in confidence and to have a chance of qualifying in a good position to the semi-finals.