Havana, March 11 (RHC) – Cuba fell 7-2 to Canada today at Hiram Bithorn Stadium and saw their hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals of the VI World Baseball Classic vanish.
The Cuban team fought a tense battle in the afternoon in Puerto Rico, where their meager offensive production and erratic defense ultimately took their toll against a team that capitalized on every weakness of their opponent.
The Cubans opened the scoring in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Owen Caissie, after Cuban catcher Andry Pérez committed a passed ball with two bases loaded.
It was the only run allowed by left-hander Liván Moinelo in three and two-thirds innings of work, during which he walked three batters, struck out four, and gave up four hits, including a double.
His replacement, Yariel Rodríguez, poorly defended, worked 1.2 innings and couldn’t prevent four runs—two unearned—which tipped the scales of the game.
A home run by Abraham Toro in the fifth, an RBI double by Bo Naylor, and a two-run single by Otto López in the sixth extinguished Cuba’s hopes.
Key in that inning was an error by second baseman Yiddi Cappé and interference by Andrys, who had a forgettable game, far from his usual quality as a catcher.
Cal Quantrill, the winning pitcher, went five innings with four strikeouts and one walk. The team managed by Germán Mesa scored a run off him before he left the game, combining that walk and a throwing error by the pitcher with a groundout by Yoelquis Guibert.
Reliever Indigo Díaz allowed Ariel Martínez’s third hit of the afternoon, driving in a run for the Caribbean team, but Adam Macko, after loading the bases with four walks, struck out the batter, ending any chance of a comeback.
The Canadians added another run in the eighth inning, credited to Yoan López, thanks to an RBI single by Josh Naylor, and another in the ninth on a single by Caissie, with Raidel Martínez on the mound.
The rest of the game was handled by relievers James Paxton and Eric Cersntola, who kept the Cuban bats silent in the final third of the game.
With this loss, the largest of the Antilles finished its run in Group A with a record of two wins and two losses, insufficient to advance in the tournament.
Canada, which finished with a record of three wins and one loss, secured first place in the group ahead of Puerto Rico and advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in the history of these games.
