Dream Italy. In the Baseball World Classic the Azzurri beat Cuba 6-3 and decide with a perfect tenth inning a balanced match that was unlocked only in the sixth. For Italy, this is the third victory ever against Cuba out of 54 matches in official events. On Friday, Italy will challenge the hosts of China Taipei, at the same time (at 7 pm local time, at 12 noon Italian time) to continue this magical journey.
Italy is more threatening than its opponents: in the second attack, Sullivan shoots, but just misses the home run and is then out to the right. David Fletcher’s double unlocks the Azzurri score, but the shortstop stops in third, with DeLuzio who doesn’t take advantage of the lead score and hits a harmless fly ball to left. In the third inning, Mastrobuoni opens with a double to opposite field, but the next three batters don’t move him.
While Elias eliminates 6 consecutive hitters and closes his excellent performance (5IP, 2H, BB, 3K), Italy sends Andre Pallante to the pitch (replaced Harvey after 3 clean sheet innings and 40 pitches) who suffers a hit, but gets a double out by the defense for a fourth inning from 3 pitches in total, while he is forced to work hard in the fifth after a base granted to Quintana and – two outs later – a second to Guilbert. But with runners in the corners, the Cardinals pitcher strikes Yoan Moncada in the batting arm wrestling.
Back to knock Italy to sixth with the entry of the first relief Jose Rodriguez, with two singles from Frelick and Pasquantino, interspersed with the harmless sprint from Valente. Dominic Fletcher hits a third single to fill the bases and forces Cuba to call Naykel Cruz to challenge lefty Brett Sullivan who hits a sacrifice fly high enough to break the run. Change also for Italy, which sends Vinny Nittoli to the platform, who seats Robert and Despaigne (the latter after coming close to the home run) and ends the inning unscathed.
The seventh round brings Italy to base with Nicky Lopez, author of a single, and Cuba takes cover with the flamethrower Livan Moinello, who is one of the best relievers in Japan, on the platform in place of Cruz, but after an out on DeLuzio, Mastrobuoni strikes again in the outside left area, overtaking Cespedes and pushing Lopez home for the 2-0. Moinello limits further damage, leaving Mastrobuoni in third.
The game begins to get carried away by episodes and emotions. In the eighth inning, the Blues responded with a solid line by Pasquantino to right that opens the eighth, then four straight balls, including a wild pitch, put Dominic Fletcher on base. On Cuban catcher’s passed ball, the Blues had three opportunities to strike, but Sullivan and David Fletcher hit two pops, then third baseman Yoan Moncada’s champion flash denied Nicky Lopez a hit. The Cubans push with the heart of their lineup: Despaigne unloads a double with an out on the new substitute Matt Festa and, after an elimination on Cespedes, Arruebarruena punishes again with a single on the opposite court that evens the score and brings the game to full balance in the ninth inning and tiebreak.
The tenth attack is a blue masterpiece of head and legs: in the play-off formula of the Classic, with 0 out, Frelick starts the second half and steals the third during Valente’s turn, who, with 2 strikes on his account, beats the single that was missing to ship him to home base. After Pasquantino’s sprint, Onelki Garcia replaces Martinez on the Cuban mountain and Dominic Fletcher welcomes him with a double that is worth the blue 4-2.
Then, with 2 out, David Fletcher intentionally sent to first and the ensuing wild pitch advances both brothers to scoring position. This time nothing can stop Nicky Lopez’s serve, who sends his teammates home for the 6-2. Cuba’s latest assault is against Mitchell Stumpo. After the out on Moncada, Luis Robert takes home the point of the flag, but Italy defends 6-3 and starts the Classic 2023 with a heart-pounding victory.
