Although Cuba walloped Venezuela 11-4 the Antilleans could not complete their second double-header sweep of the tournament. The Cubans were rained out in the Gold Medal Match with México and had to settle for silver in a bizarre change in format. Tournament officials awarded the Aztecs the gold based on the fact that they beat Cuba in the preliminary round. Mexico (6-1) finishes as the champion first the time in the Games’ history, while Cuba (5-2) wins silver for the second straight addition while Venezuela (5-3) defeated the Dominican Republic (4-4) earlier in the day to take the bronze.
The Cubans connected a total of 14 hits at the Saturnino Bengoa stadium in El Salvador, four of them were extra-base hits (3 2B and 1 HR) and also benefited from five walks from rival pitching. Cuba scored seven runs in the first two innings to take a comfortable 7-0 lead early on. In the first, a Dayan García hit the was brought by a Yoelkis Guibert double, who later also scored thanks to Yasniel González single.
García drove in a run with a single to right field in the second inning to make the score 4-0. Roel Santos scored the fifthrun of the day thanks to a wild pitch and Yurisbel Gracial brought in a pair of runs with a single to center.
José Ramón Rodríguez (3.0 IP, 7H, 3ER, BB, 3K) had a rough day on the mound for Cuba. He allowed two runs in the third and another in the fourth inning for to allow Venezuela to get back in the game and making the score 7-3 in Cuba’s favor. To open the fourth, Yoelkis Guibert reached on a single to left and scored thanks to Erisbel Arruebarruena’s first longball of the tournament to make the score 9-3.
Naykel Cruz notched the victory in the tournament, tossing four impeccable innings in relief to close the game. The lefty only allowed two hits, a run and struck out three. Cuba added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth to set the final marker at 11-4. Dayan García was the star on offense for the Cubans yesterday and closed the tournament with eight straight hits. He also scored two runs and also drove in two on the day.
"Plata a la lluvia" para beisbolistas en Juegos de #SanSalvador2023
Con todo listo en el Parque Saturnino Bengoa, la lluvia se hizo presente y no hubo manera de pensar en que escamparía, ni en reparar el terreno. #beisbol #baseball #MasRetosMasCompromiso https://t.co/qxFncnoeT8 pic.twitter.com/GlUezcQmZC— JIT Deporte Cubano (@jit_digital) July 2, 2023
Boxscore:
1. Roel Santos (CF): 3-1, R, 2B, K
2. Dayan García (3B): 4-4, 2R, 2RBI
3. Yoelkis Guibert (RF): 4-2, 2R, 2B, RBI, K
4. Erisbel Arruebarruena (SS): 3-1, 2R, HR, 2RBI, BB
5. Yasniel González (1B): 3-2, R, 2B, RBI, BB
6. Yurisbel Gracial (DH): 3-2, R, 2RBI
7. Yadil Mujica (2B): 3-2, R, RBI, BB
8. Yunior Ibarra (C): 4-0, 2K
9. Raico Santos (LF): 2-0, R, 2BB
Pitchers:
José Ramón Rodríguez: 3.0 IP, 7H, 3ER, BB,3K
Javier Mirabal: 0.0 IP, H, BB
Naikel Cruz: 4.0 IP, 2H, ER, 3K, W (1-0)