BASEBALL : IT'S TIME FOR CUBA SHOWDOWN AMERICANS WARM UP WITH ROUT OF AUSSIES.Byline: Daily News Wire Services Bring on Cuba and warm up the scoreboard. The U.S. baseball team homered its way to another victory Saturday night and headed into today's long-awaited matchup with Cuba exactly as it wanted to: with a medal-round berth clinched and a perfect record in hand. The Americans hit five homers - two by Jacque Jones Jacque Dewayne Jones (born April 25, 1975 in San Diego, California) is an American outfielder who currently plays for the Chicago Cubs in Major League Baseball. Early life of USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. - for a 15-5 victory over Australia that earned them a spot in the medal round and set up the Olympic tournament's marquee game today. Cuba and the U.S. are both 5-0 and on a roll. The Cubans clinched a medal-round berth and tied the Olympic scoring record Saturday with a 20-6 drubbing of Italy that featured six homers. They're looking forward to going power-against-power for bragging rights in today's first-round game, then perhaps again in the medals round. ``It's definitely important to us,'' Cuban third baseman third baseman n. Baseball The infielder stationed near third base. Noun 1. third baseman - (baseball) the person who plays third base third sacker Omar Linares Omar Linares Izquierdo (born October 23, 1967 in San Juan y Martínez, Pinar del Río, Cuba) is a former Cuban baseball player. Linares, who played third base for the Cuban national team and for Pinar del Río in the Cuban National Series, is considered one of the greatest Cuban said. ``Only one team can be in first place. (Today) is going to decide which teams stays in first place.'' ``It's an important game for both teams,'' Cuban manager Jorge Fuentes said. ``They're expecting 50,000 people. We want to put on a good show.'' Following Cuba's lead, the U.S. put on a show in the night game. Troy Glaus Troy Edward Glaus (born August 3, 1976 in Tarzana, California) is a Major League Baseball player who plays third base for the Toronto Blue Jays. Previously, Glaus played with the Anaheim Angels (1998-2004) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (2005). of UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX hit one into the upper deck in left field in the fourth inning. The shot was estimated at 481 feet, the longest of the game. The U.S. players also entertained the crowd with an impromptu football-tossing competition during a 25-rain delay. After a fan tossed a small football onto the field, Jones and Billy Koch Earlier, the U.S. hitters took aim on the upper deck - and reached it. Jones hit a two-run homer and Warren Morris Warren Morris (born January 11, 1974) is a former college and Major League Baseball player. He is most remembered for his 9th inning walk-off home run that won the 1996 College World Series for the Louisiana State University Tigers. had a three-run shot for a 7-1 lead after the first inning. Mark Kotsay and Jones hit consecutive homers in the fourth for an 11-5 lead. Using aluminum bats against overmatched pitchers, Cuba and the U.S. have already shattered the Olympic record of 12 homers in the round robin. Cuba has 19, six of them by Orestes Kindelan. The U.S. has 18, all of them in the last four games and 10 of them in the first inning. Which only adds spice to today's matchup. The Americans had a 6-3 record against the Cubans in their nine exhibition games the past two summers, so it's a safe bet Cuba will take an interest in extending its amazing 140-game winning streak in international tournament play. ``They have a well-deserved honor and reputation of being the best,'' U.S. coach Skip Bertman said. ``You get that when you've lost once in tournament play in 10 years.'' Nine of the 20 U.S. players were first-round draft picks by major-league teams. |
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