Netherlands - Cuba

 

Cuba stunned by the Netherlands

Cuba’s hopes of reaching the final stages of the World Baseball Classic hanging by a thread after 6-2 loss.

Jonathan Schoop hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning to inspire the Netherlands to a 6-2 victory

( OLD POST) 

The Netherlands stunned Cuba 6-2 in the World Baseball Classic’s second round on Friday to move one win from reaching the tournament’s final stage for the first time.

Second baseman Jonathan Schoop earned four runs to put the Dutch through to a game between either Japan, the two-time defending champions, or Taiwan, and leave Cuba’s hopes hanging by a thread.

The win at Tokyo Dome, against one of the tournament favourites and 2006 finalists, was the second big upset recorded by the Netherlands after they shocked South Korea, runners-up in 2009, in the first round.

The Netherlands have never reached the final stage before, while Cuba have to go through repechage play-offs if they want to make it to the championship series starting in San Francisco on March 17.

Steady progress

After missing a big chance at two downs and full bases in the first inning, the Netherlands took a 1-0 lead at the beginning of the second when Curt Smith fired a solo home run off Cuban starter Ismel Jimenez.

Andrelton Simmons then hit a single to get Kalian Sams back home, after the left outfielder had hit a double and advanced to the third base on a sacrifice bunt.Cuba pulled one back with Alfredo Despaigne’s solo home run in the bottom of the second inning, but Schoop stretched the lead to 5-1 by unleashing a three-run homer in the sixth inning.Yulieski Gurriel pulled another run back for Cuba by hitting a solo homer to trail 2-5 in the seventh inning, but Schoop regained the four-run lead with a double to the left.Tension flared up in the bottom of the eighth when first baseman Smith caught Jose Abreu’s foul ball falling down into the photographers’ area. A video replay showed he picked up the ball after failing to catch it.

 Cuban head coach Victor Mesa’s protest was turned down, and with that, their hopes of a comeback faded.

Japan will play Taiwan later on Friday. Two teams from the Asian second round will advance to San Francisco, joining another two sides from the pools being played in Puerto Rico and Arizona.

Netherlands COVID

 

Netherlands to go into tough COVID lockdown from Sunday 

All non-essential shops must close until January 14 and gatherings are limited to two people.

The partial lockdown already in place in the Netherlands has been toughened to combat a surge in Omicron COVID-19 cases 

Published On 18 Dec 202118 Dec 2021

The Netherlands will go into a tough lockdown from Sunday morning to limit a feared COVID-19 surge due to the Omicron variant, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.

Rutte told a news conference on Saturday that all non-essential shops, restaurants, bars, cinemas, museums and theatres must stay shut until January 14, while schools must close until at least January 9.

Only shops considered essential – such as supermarkets and pharmacies – are exempt from the orders.

The number of guests that people are allowed in their house is also being cut from four to two, except for Christmas Day.

Gatherings outside are also limited to a maximum of two people.

“I stand here tonight in a sombre mood,” Rutte said. “The Netherlands will go back into lockdown from tomorrow. It is inevitable with the fifth wave and with Omicron spreading even faster than we had feared. We must now intervene as a precaution.”

 Rutte said the announcement builds on a partial lockdown already in force that requires bars, restaurants and other public gathering places such as cinemas and theatres to close at 5pm.

A failure to act now would likely lead to “an unmanageable situation in hospitals”, which have already scaled back regular care to make space for COVID-19 patients, Rutte said.

The head of the Dutch outbreak management team, Jaap van Dissel, told the news conference that the Omicron variant would overtake the Delta strain to become dominant in the Netherlands by the end of the year.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday the Omicron variant is spreading significantly faster than the Delta strain in countries with documented community transmission, with the number of cases doubling in 1.5 to three days.

The highly mutated variant is spreading rapidly in countries with high levels of population immunity, the WHO said, but it is unclear if this is due to the virus’s ability to evade immunity, its inherent increased transmissibility or a combination of both.