Cuba tops Australia, reaches second round of World Baseball Classic
TOKYO (AP) — Outfielder Alfredo Despaigne hit a grand slam in the fifth inning on Friday as Cuba beat Australia 4-3 to advance to the second round of the World Baseball Classic.
Despaigne, who played for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan the last three seasons, connected off Australia pitcher Lachlan Wells for his second homer of the tournament.
Despaigne homered three times in six games in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. His grand slam Friday came off a 2-1 fastball Wells left in the middle of the plate.
Cuba finished Pool B with a 2-1 record and will face Israel at Tokyo Dome on Sunday. Australia has played in the WBC all four times but has never made it out of the first round.
Two-time champion Japan faces China later Friday with a chance to finish in first place in the Pool B.
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