Well, looks like our little two bit baseball rag is gaining some legitimacy, as I fenagled an all access pass to the championship World Cup game. I’m currently surrounded by several Cuban coaches, about 5 major league scouts, including scouts from the Mariners, Cubs, Phillies and some wiry dude in a cowboy hat. I don’t know who he works for….a scout clues me in that it’s Jim Walton from the USA scouting bureau.

2:36 PM. All members of the Cuban national team walk by me, including famed pitcher Pedro Lazo, who was showcased in the World Baseball classic. Lazo looks like he’s about 7′3 in person.

4 PM, Gametime:…. Here’s the first pitch from Cuban righty Yadel Marti Carillo

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Top of the 1st: Marti Carillo gets Rasmus on a tough breaking pitch. Nix reaches out and lines a single into CF. Laroche lines a hot shot to 3rd that boucnes off Gourriel’s glove. SS Paret’s quick hands and footwork around the bag allow him to recover the ball and get the runner at 2nd. Pearce hits a deep fly to CF to end the inning.

US 0, Cuba 0

Bottom of the first: A. Rodriguez hits a ball to the hole, SS Brian Bixler makes a ridiculous throw from the hole lying on his back to get Rodriguez at first. #12 Hector Oliviera swings a lot like Soriano. he also chases a slider off the plate like soriano. One scout compares him to DeLino Deshields. Duensing breaks Gourriel’s bat to retire the side in order.

US 0 Cuba 0

Top of the second: Evan Longoria leads off for the states. Cuba’s SP Yadel Carillo baffles Evan Longoria on three pitches. Delwyn Young comes up, he’s hitting .143 in the series. Marti is toying with him, starts him off with a first pitch change up. Young way out ahead. Marti locates brilliantly.

Suddenly trouble, as Young reaches out and strokes a single to left. Ruggiano singles into left through the hole, advancing young to second. Phillies C Jason Jaramillo singles to right, bringing home Young, Ruggiano to 3rd. RF Yoandry Urgelles’ throw sails way high, allowing Jaramillo to take 2nd. Carillo balks runner to 1st, loading the bases.

Wow! Carillo is yanked after just 1.1/3 innings. He’s replaced by Norberto Gonzalez. Gonzales’ first pitch is off. He misses with his second pitch, a 114 KM change with lots of movement on it. Gonzalez walks Rasmus to walk in a run, putting the US up 2-0. So far Gonzalez is all over the place. getting behind hitters. 2B Jayson nix up with bases loaded and no one out, he runs the count full after neearly killing Jaramillo at 3rd. Gonzalez walks another run in, score is 3-0. Gonzales gets the hook.

Closer Yuniesky Maya comes in to try to stop the bleeding. He’s got a NASTY slider.

Bases loaded, one out, LaRoche at the plate…with the count full, SS Eduardo Perez suddenly comes up lame, there’s a 10 minute team meeting.

LaRoche goes down on strikes after a 10 minute delay. wicked pissah.

Maya gets Pearce to pop up to 3rd, containing the damage to 3-0.

US 3 Cuba 0

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Bottom of the Second: duensing gets #65 Alexander Mayeta to ground out, but #24 Frederich Cepeda lines a single to left. Yoandry Urgelles grounds a slow roller to second, forcing Cepeda out. Duensing gets Osmani Urrutia to ground to short. Duensing registers around 91 MPH on the gun.

US 3 Cuba 0

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Top of the 3rd:

Longoria hits a hot shot to the hole that bounces off of Paret’s glove for a single. Selwyn Young flies out lightly to right field, rain starting to pour down a bit. Ruggiano with a nice opposite field single to right field, advancing Longoria to third base. Jaramillo doubles in Longoria, advancing Ruggiano to 3b. 4-0. USA. Bixler fouls one down the line……JUST foul. Very good AB’s from the US team. Maya gets Bixler looking on a called strike 3, fastball up at the belt. Rasmus with two outs…..Maya with a nice breaking pitch to get Rasmus to bounce out to end the inning.

US 3 Cuba 0

Ariel Postano goes down swinging, and here’s Paret. Duensing gets Paret looking for out #2, fooling him on a change up. Alfredo Despaigne lines out to Bixler, Bixler making his second outstanding grab of the evening.

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top of the fourth

2B Jayson Nix leads off the inning…..its a blast to left center field….going back….back….the LF can’t get it, it’s gone! 5-0. Laroche lines a single to left field. This one could get ugly. The US is playing very confidently…and that closes the book on Maya, who leaves with nobody out. In comes Righty Yonder Martinez. Martinez is a big boy. Here’s Steve Pearce with no one out. Laroche takes second as c Ariel Pestano’s throw sails high, Pearce down on strikes. Here’s Evan Longoria. Longoria flies out to right, two away. and here’s Selwyn Young, who’s raised his average to .167. Young has a good frame but there’s something about his swing that’s a bit off….and sure enough, Martinez blows a fastball past Young after setting him up with a 95 KPH curveball.

USA 5 Cuba 0

bottm of the fourth

#11 Rudy Reyes leads off with a double into the gap. He has a lanky, Soriano-esqu body, but taller. Gurriel pops up to 2b, one out. 1b Alexander Mayeta comes up with one out, he looks well into his 30’s. Duensing looks quite solid through 3 2/3, getting Mayeta to ground out, and then pops Frederich Cepeda up to end the inning.

USA 5, Cuba 0

Top of the 5th

Yonder Martinez is settling down for the Cubans, retiring Ruggiano and Jaramillo on strikes. He’s got an excellent curveball. Bixler bounces to 3rd for the third out of the inning.

USA 5, Cuba 0

Bottom of the 5th

Yoandry Urguelles leads off the inning, singling to opposite field off of Duensing. Duensing so far has thrown 40 of his 55 pitches for strikes and owns the strike zone. DH Osmani Urrutia comes up to the plate; Urrutia’s body shape vaguely resemble’s Krusty the Clown mixed with Leon Durham aged 60. Duensing dispatches with him quickly and continues his mastery of the lineup. One out, man on first, C Ariel Pestano flies out to LF. SS Eduardo Paret gets fooled on a slider and quickly falls behind 1-2…Paret bounces to SS but Bixler bobbles it, the ball gets lost in the OF, Urguelles moves to 3rd, Paret taking 2nd. Los Cubanos have their first legitimate scoring chance of the evening…..Alfredo Despaigne lines a hard shot at 2B nix and….its OFF HIS GLOVE….both runners score, Despaigne safe at 1b. And that’s it for Duensing, who sees his shutout disappear in the bottom of the 5th. Here comes Angels AAA P Stephen Shell in relief….Rudy Reyes at the plate. Reyes looks as if he went to the Alfonso Soriano batting academy. Shell gets Reyes to ground out to SS and that ends the inning.

USA 5, Cuba 2

Top of the 6th

Colby Rasmus bloops a single into center. Rasmus is nailed on a 2-1 count trying to steal second by Cuban c Ariel Pestano, nice throw. Nix grounds out to second as Martinez really seems to have found his rhythm. Here’s Andy Laroche. Martinez gets ahead 0-2 on a fastball that looks outside. LaRoche with a sharp single down 0-2 into left past Perez at SS. Martinez breaks Steve Pierce’s bat to end the inning.

USA 5, Cuba 2

Bottom of the 6th

Gurriel lines out on a hot shot to 3rd tha’s stabbed by Evan Longoria. Alexander Mayeta Kerr flies out to CF. Shell looks rather Scott Shields like in relief of Duensing. Frederich Cepeda Cruz is….down on strikes on a nice change from Stephen Shell.

USA 5, Cuba 2

Top of the 7th

Longoria lines a 140 KPH Martinez fastball into left for a single. Delwyn Young finally manages to accomplish something productive and hits a shot over RF Yoandry Urguelles’ head. It’s off the wall….Longoria cruises into 3rd, Young has a stand-up double. Here comes Ruggiano, who could make things interesting…..he does!….singling in Longoria, Young heads for home and he is…..cut down by a good throw from Urguelles in right. Young looks like he got a little bit greedy. One down, man on second.

New pitcher heads into the game, as big LHP Elier Sanchez comes in in relief of Martinez. ruggiano steals third, and now there’s a man on 3rd base with one out. Sanchez gets C Jason Jaramillo on strikes, he walks with his head down dejectedly towards the dugout. Here’s Bixler with a chance to blow the game wide open…but he softly lines out to second base.

USA 6, Cuba 2.

Bottom of the 7th

RF Urguelles to lead off the inning. Shields fastball gets up to 147 KPH, then he gets Urguelles to ground out on a breaking pitch around 134. Here’s Krusty the Klown aka Urrutia again, with one out. Shell plunks Urrutia and puts him on first…..then whiffs the C Pestano for the second out. Here’s Eduardo Paret, who hits one square to left but it dies right at the left fielder Young who puts it away for the 3rd out.

USA 6, Cuba 2.

Top of the 8th

Rasmus leads off to start off the inning. Elier Sanchez’ fastball is peaking around 148 KPH. Rasmus grounds weakly to 2B for the first out. the Cubans are once again stalling the game, having a prolonged discussion behind the pitchers mound. In comes RHP Vladimir Chacon.

Chacon comes in to pitch to to Nix with one out. Nix gets under one and pops it up for the second out. LaRoche pounds one out of the stadium but its foul. Damn, he’s got power and nice short swing. Laroche strikes out to end the inning.

USA 6, Cuba 2

Bottom of the 8th 

Shell gets Alfredo Despaigne Rodriguez to strike out to start off the first, and gets Rudy Reyes to ground out for the second out.  Yuliesky Gurriel doubles over LF Delwyn Young’s head, he’s on second….and then Alexander Mayeta Kerr knocks him in to make it 6-3…Here comes manager Davey Johnson for a meeting, and that could be all for Stephen Shell.  It is, nice game in relief for Shell.

Here comes Left Hander Jerry Blevins with one man on.  Blevins locates a 144 MPH fastball on the outside corner for strike….Blevins ends the rally by getting Frederich Cepeda Cruz to ground out.  Named after Engels?  Nietzsche?

USA 6, Cuba 3

Top of the 9th Inning

Steve Pearce to lead off the top of the 9th, the US up 3.  Pearce grounds up the middle, it looks like a single, but 2B Rudy Reyes robs him of base hit with a diving stab.  Great play by Reyes, whose like a version of Soriano with 1/3 the power and better defense at second. Evan Longoria goes down, and then Delwyn Young grounds out to second to end the inning.   Here comes Cuba’s last chance….

USA 6, Cuba 3

Yoandry Urguelles grounds out for the first out of the inning.  that’s all for Blevins, whose in line for the hold.   P Jeff Stevens is brought in to lock the save down, and he blows a fastball past Urruta for the second out.   One batter left, and the US takes it…

1-2 count, crowd on its feet, Pestano at the plate, Stevens gets him to fly out to RF, and the US takes it!  The US mobs home plate!  Duensing gets the win, Blevins the hold, and Stevens the save.

Good night from Taipei, ladies and gentlemen.