Japan - Cuba Games

Thanks for bringing this up. The two game series between the Japanese and Cuban Olympic teams held at Tokyo Dome over the past two days (July 13 and 14, 2004) have shown that the two teams are very close.

In the first game, Japanese pitchers held the Cubans to just three hits over nine innings, giving up just one unearned run (on three errors in the fifth). The Japanese team got their lone run in the eighth on doubles by Tani (Orix) and Y. Takahashi (Giants). The Japanese representatives managed six hits in the contest that was called a draw 1-1 after nine innings.

The second game went back and fourth. The Japanese team struck first with a run in the top of the first thanks to a leadoff walk to Muramatsu (Orix) and a two out double by Johjima (Daiei). Cuba answered with a pair of home runs in the bottom half of the inning by Pale(?) and Gurel(?). (Sorry, I don't know how to spell the Cuban names from the Katakana.)

The Japanese knocked starter Boroto(?) out in the top of the third when Johjima hit his second RBI double in two at bats to tie the game at 2-2. Betancool(?) came in and got Fukudome (Chunichi) to ground out to second, moving Johjima to third. Then he let loose a wild pitch to Tani (Orix) to give Japan the lead. Tani followed that with a single and was brought around on Nakamura's (Kintetsu) two run home run to left. That put Japan up 5-2.

Cuba battled back, though. Escul(?) hit a solo shot to center to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Then four consecutive singles in the bottom of the fifth added two more runs to tie the game at 5-5. Sanchez(?) drove in the winning run with a two out double in the bottom of the seventh.

After the big third inning, Japan had only one base hit the rest of the game, a single to left by catcher Aikawa (Yokohama) who appears to have come in after Johjima was thrown out trying to steal second. I don't know if the replacement was due to an injury or not. There was no mention of him getting hurt, so it was probably to allow Aikawa to get some time behind the plate.