SAN DIEGO — Three years later and the Cubans still haven't figured out Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Matsuzaka threw six shutout innings and got some help from his batters as Samurai Japan got off to a quick start in the second round of the World Baseball Classic with a 6-0 victory over Cuba in front of 20,179 fans at PETCO Park on Sunday.
"Yesterday I was thinking about Cuba and simulating the game in my head," Japan manager Tatsunori Hara said. "Today's game was so much better than that."