As they gear up for the Premier 12 baseball tournament, Cuba extended their winning streak on Wednesday with a decisive 7-1 victory over the CTBC Brothers, reigning champions of the Taiwan Professional League, at Taichung's Intercontinental Stadium. This win marked the Cuban team's second consecutive triumph in Taiwan, following a narrow 6-5 win against the semi-professional Life Along team the day before.
Though the Cuban team managed just six hits, their offense, led by manager Armando Johnson, was efficient. Ariel Martínez, fresh from the Japanese League, made a significant impact as the cleanup hitter, driving in two runs with a pair of hits. According to the digital publication JIT, Yoan Moncada, Yoelquis Guibert, Jeans Walters, and Andrys Pérez contributed the other crucial hits for the island's lineup.
On the mound, Yoennis Yera delivered an impressive performance, pitching five strong innings while allowing only one run via a home run and striking out five opponents. Yusniel Padrón also shone, pitching three innings with six strikeouts, and Raidel Martínez made his cycle debut with a flawless inning, retiring two batters on strikes.
Upcoming Challenges in Premier 12 Tournament
The Cuban team is set to face the CTBC Brothers again on Thursday before heading to the capital, Taipei. There, they will compete in Group B of the Premier 12 starting November 13. Their group includes the host team, the Dominican Republic, Australia, the current champion Japan, and South Korea, the winner of the inaugural Premier 12 in 2015.
Meanwhile, teams from the United States, Puerto Rico, Panama, Venezuela, the Netherlands, and host Mexico will kick off their matches in Group A, to be held in the cities of Tepic and Guadalajara.