Cuban baseball player Yoenis Cespedes scores a hit during a Group A match against the Netherlands during the World Baseball Classic at Taichung Intercontinental Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan, Wednesday, March 8, 2023. (AP Photo /I-Hwa Cheng)

TAICHUNG, Taiwan (AP) — After a six-year absence, the World Baseball Classic began with a 4-2 victory for the Netherlands over Cuba in a Group A game in Taiwan.

In another game on Wednesday night, Panama took on Taiwan in Group A.

The Pool B fights begin in Tokyo on Thursday, when South Korea take on Australia and the host nation, led by Angels star Shoehi Ohtani, takes on China. Group C and D matches begin Saturday in Phoenix and Miami.

The United States won the last tournament in 2017 and are among the favorites, along with the Dominican Republic and Japan. Japan have won twice (2006, 2009) and the Dominican team once (2013).

This is the first World Baseball Classic in which MLB players can play with Cuba. Former major league hitter Yoenis Céspedes, who competed with Cuba in 2009 and finished the tournament with a .458 batting average and began his major league career three years later with the Oakland Athletics. He played eight seasons with Oakland, Boston, Detroit and the New York Mets.

Céspedes had no hits as a designated hitter and walked two. Cuba got just three hits. The match pitted the two group favorites against each other and gave the Dutch a big boost in their first encounter.

Cuba took a 1-0 lead in the second on a Yadil Mujica brace to sink Yoelkis Guibert.

Didi Gregorius isolated Roger Bernadina to equalize 1-1 in the third. The Netherlands took a 4-1 lead in the sixth when Josh Palacios drove Gregorius in and Chadwick Tromp’s single produced two more runs.

Cuba made it 4-2 in the seventh but failed to score again.

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