The no. 1 Japan, the only undefeated team at the 2024 WBSC Premier12 presented by RAXUS, will face no. 9 Cuba at the Taipei Tianmu Stadium on Sunday, November 17.
Japan chose Takahisa Hayakawa as their starting pitcher. Born in 1998, Hayakawa is a left-hander who plays for the Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese Professional Baseball League (NPB). He debuted with the Eagles in 2021, and 2024 was his best season. Hayakawa started 25 games and posted an 11-6 record. He pitched 170.1 innings, striking out 160 and allowing 35 walks and 156 hits. He had a respectable ERA of 2.54.
Cuba will deliver the ball to Raymond Figueredo. The 26-year-old right-hander has played in the Cuban National Series since the 2017-18 season. He has always been a starter for the Industriales de La Habana. He split the summer of 2024 between Cuba and the Italian Baseball League, where he helped Parma win the championship, posting a 6-2 record in 9 starts and a 2.80 earned run average.
Japan and Cuba are great powers in international baseball, but they have never met in the WBSC Premier12.
Japan defeated Cuba in the inaugural final of the World Baseball Classic in 2006. Cuba beat Japan, 6-3, in the Opening Round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic, but Japan won in the 2017 World Baseball Classic in both the Opening Round (11-6) as in the second round (8-5).
Cuba won the most recent matchup between the two programs, 7-0, at the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup 2022.
