Homers, Defense Give U.S. Victory

Travis Lee and Jason Williams homered early, Jacque Jones of USC had three hits and three RBI and the U.S. Olympic baseball team used four double plays and clutch pitching to beat Cuba, 8-4, in Norfolk, Va.

The victory gave the Americans, playing their first game since the roster was trimmed from 25 players to 20 late Wednesday, a 2-3 record against Cuba, which heads for Atlanta seeking to defend its Olympic title in baseball.

The United States jumped on Cuban pitchers Ernesto Guevara and Elicier Montes d’Oca for six runs in the first three innings as Williams and Lee each homered. Lee’s three-run shot in the third made it 6-1.

Cuba rallied against starter R.A. Dickey, drawing to within 6-4 in the fifth inning before Jim Parque and Braden Looper combined to keep the Cubans at bay over the final five innings. Parque, of UCLA, pitched three innings for the victory.