Cubans lost to Italy in Haarlem Baseball Week

HAVANA, Cuba, July 13 (ACN) Showing the same poor performance at the home plate that they suffered since the beginning of the tournament, the Cuban team Granma Alazanes lost 0-2 to Italy today to finish the competition with a dismal record of five defeats and no wins.

The Cubans showed more of the same, with noticeable batting problems that restrained their production to five singles and zero runs in their third successive shutout, which extended the team’s scoreless record to 25 innings.

Italy scored its two runs off right-hander César García, who was not in good shape, the first with end-to-end singles by designated hitter Dario Pizzano and catcher Alberto Mineo, combined with a bunt and a sacrifice fly, whereas Noel Gonzalez, a Cuban who became a naturalized Italian, brought in the second in the fifth inning.

No doubt a disappointing performance by the Alazanes, who only hit 24 singles in 35 innings and scored barely two runs in the whole tournament, losing to the Netherlands (1-5), Japan (3-4), United States (0-2) and Curacao (0-1) before today’s loss.