Fans of Cuba, as well as curious onlookers and scouts, got a chance to see the island nation’s two best pitchers ahead of the World Baseball Classic Saturday night.
Livan Moinelo, the reigning MVP in the Pacific League of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where he pitches for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, and Raidel Martinez of the Yomiuri Giants, each contributed to a combined 6-0 shutout of Nicaragua in the finale of Cuba’s four-game exhibition tour of the Central American country. The game was played at Estadio Nacional Soberania in Managua, and the victory gave Cuba a 2-1-1 record in the series.
Moinelo started the game for Cuba, striking out five in two innings of work while allowing three hits and a walk. The game was the first live action the 30-year-old righty has seen since Game 3 of the Japan Series, when Moinelo started for SoftBank on Oct. 28.
RELATED: Series vs. Cuba is Spring Training For Veteran Manager Dusty Baker and Nicaragua
Martinez, 29, has led NPB in saves three times, including the last two seasons, and fulfilled a similar role last night for Cuba, allowing one hit in the final inning while recording two strikeouts to finish out the game.
Both Moinelo and Martinez are signed to contracts in Japan through the Federacion Cubana Beisbol y Softbol, but could potentially end up in Major League Baseball if they were to break away from the FCBS’s control, as Yariel Rodriguez did shortly after the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Nicaragua starter Ronald Medrano threw three innings, allowing one run on two hits and three walks, striking out five, while left fielder Chase Dawson, batting leadoff for Nicaragua, went 3-for-5 for Nicaragua. Dawson went 7-for-14 in the series with a double and two walks.
Nicaragua will travel to Florida for a pair of exhibition game games against Major League Baseball’s New York Mets on March 3 and the St. Louis Cardinals on March 4 before Pool D play begins at loanDepot Park in Miami on March 6.
Cuba will travel to Arizona to face the Kansas City Royals on March 3 and the Cincinnati Reds on March 4 before traveling to San Juan, Puerto Rico for Pool A play, which begins on March 6 at Estadio Hiram Bithorn.
Cuba/Nicaragua Exhibition Series Schedule
All times Eastern Standard Time
Feb. 19
Cuba 2, Nicaragua 2 – Estadio Roberto Clemente – Masaya, Nicaragua
Feb. 22
Cuba 3, Nicaragua 1 – Estadio Rigoberto Lopez Perez – Leon, Nicaragua
Feb. 25
Nicaragua 6, Cuba 1 – Estadio Yamil Rios Ugarte – Rivas, Nicaragua
Feb. 28
Cuba 6, Nicaragua 0 – Estadio Nacional Soberania – Managua, Nicaragua
Photo: Livan Moinelo #89 of Cuba throws in the eighth inning during the World Baseball Classic quarterfinal between Australia and Cuba at Tokyo Dome on March 15, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images)
