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Cuba gets revenge on U.S.

Kindelan homers twice as Cubans earn 8th straight title

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Posted: Tuesday August 03, 1999 12:31 AM

Cuba starter Jose Contreras struck out 13. AP

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) -- Cuba shrugged off defections, human rights protests and a pair of stunning losses to beat the United States 5-1 Monday night for the gold medal in Pan American Games baseball.

Orestes Kindelan, the leading home run hitter in Cuban league history, hit two as the Cubans won their eighth straight Pan Ams title. They did it the hard way, losing to the Americans and Canadians in the opening round, dropping them to third in their pool.

But, despite the defection of 19-year-old pitcher Danys Baez late Sunday night, Cuba had more than enough for the collection of U.S. minor leaguers.

Kindelan, who had 430 homers entering the game, but was 3-for-35 in the tournament, hit a two-out homer in the fourth off starter Brad Penny for a 1-0 lead. The next batter, Gabriel Pierre, followed with another homer.

That was enough for starter Jose Contreras, pitching superbly on one day of rest. Contreras, who went six innings on Saturday in the quarterfinals vs. the Dominican Republic, fanned eight straight in the first three innings and allowed four hits in eight. He struck out 13.

The United States, which like the Cubans qualified for the 2000 Olympics by making the final, got within 2-1 in the fifth on a double by Milton Bradley and an RBI single by Marcus Jensen.

But in the sixth agaisnt reliever Derek Wallace, Omar Linares reached on an error by shortstop Travis Dawkins and Kindelan hit another home run. He also doubled in the eighth, when Cuba scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch by Todd Williams.

Maels Rodriguez pitched the ninth, which began with Cuban players at the top of their dugout unfurling flags. Two were unfurled as many of their fans moved to the third-base grandstand and began beating drums and dancing.

When it ended, the players ran to the mound to hug each other amid the flags and drums and cheers.

Canada, despite the best record in the tournament, 6-1, got only a bronze medal and no trip to the Olympics. The Canadians beat Mexico 9-2 Monday.

Still, it was Canada's first baseball medal at any major games.

"We accomplished not exactly what we wanted, but we weren't going to go home without any hardware," Stubby Clapp said.

During Cuba's 3-2 semifinal victory over Canada, a man carrying a sign saying "Human Right First," rushed onto the field. He eventually was decked by second baseman Juan Padilla and taken off by security.

The Cubans criticized games officials for failing to stop the demonstrator from disrupting the game.

"Cuban athletes will not permit anyone or anything to humiliate them ... if their dignity is at stake," a statement from the Cuban delegation said. "From now on we will react with full energy to provocations."

They certainly were energized in handling the Americans, who finished 5-2.

 

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