Korea beats Cuba for first win at WBSC Premier12

Korea defeated Cuba 8-4 Thursday for its first win at the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 in Taipei, bouncing back after a dispiriting loss to Chinese Taipei in the tournament opener the previous day.

Kim Do-yeong, the leading MVP candidate in the KBO this year, blasted two home runs, including a grand slam off starter Livan Moinelo in the six-run second inning in the Group B game at Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium in the Taiwanese capital. Korean starter Gwak Been tossed four shutout innings and struck out five.

Korea will next take on Japan on Friday at Taipei Dome. The first pitch is 6 p.m. local time, or 7 p.m. in Korea.

The rivalry showdown will be followed by games against the Dominican Republic on Saturday and Australia on Monday.

The top two teams from Group B after round-robin action will qualify for the Super Round, with the two best teams from Group A joining them.

Following the 6-3 defeat at the hands of Chinese Taipei, Korea will likely have to win out to have a shot at reaching the Super Round.

Japan is considered one of the title favorites, despite missing its major league stars such as Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Korea has lost to Japan in their past six meetings at international baseball tournaments.

Yonhap