Cuba keeps crushing, rolls into game vs. fellow unbeaten Puerto Rico

Rumors about Cuba losing its swagger on the international baseball scene may, in fact, have been greatly exaggerated.

The global hardball titans won again on Sunday afternoon, beating Colombia, 7-4, and moving them to 2-0 in World Baseball Classic’s Pool A while eliminating Colombia (0-3) from advancing to the knockout round. With the win, Cuba kept pace with Puerto Rico atop the group, as the two teams sport identical 2-0 records in pool play.

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“The environment here is very positive,” manager German Mesa said postgame. “The guys are … having great fun in the ballgame. That is fundamental for a team to move forward.”

For the second time in as many World Baseball Classic games, an early power surge propelled Cuba to a pivotal victory.

Colombia opened the scoring in the top of the first inning, with Jordan Diaz’s sacrifice fly giving the Colombians their first lead of the WBC. But that advantage proved to be short-lived.

The first two Cuban batters reached in the bottom of the first inning against Colombian right-hander Luis Patiño, bringing Ariel Martinez to the plate with a chance to do damage. The first baseman delivered, clubbing a 2-1 fastball over the right-field fence to shift the momentum back in Cuba’s favor.

Two batters later, Erisbel Arruebarrena tacked on a long ball of his own, smacking a first-pitch slider into the left-field seats.

Cuba didn’t display this much power in its fourth-place finish at the 2023 Classic. In that tournament, the lineup managed just two home runs. Through two games in this year’s Classic, Cuba has already doubled that total.

Cuba expanded its lead in the sixth inning, taking advantage of sloppy fielding by Colombia. Tito Polo dropped a fly ball in center field -- which would have been the final out of the frame -- allowing Cuba’s Yoel Yanqui to score. One batter later, left fielder Harold Ramirez misplayed a line drive off the bat of Yiddi Cappe, leading to a two-run triple.

Those miscues mattered, as Colombia scratched across two runs in the seventh inning to make it a three-run game. Colombia scored four runs against Cuba after managing just a pair in its first two WBC games, though its struggles with runners in scoring position continued. Colombia went 1-for-11 (.091) with RISP on Sunday and is now just 2-for-28 (.071) in the tournament.

“I've always thought, and part of what I was mentioning to them is commitment, intention, and attitude, which is what we lack sometimes,” Colombia manager Jose Mosquera said. “Today was a tough defeat. It was a defeat that not only eliminates us but places us back in maybe having to qualify again. If you look at the names we have on our roster, you can tell we're running out of that depth of players, and we need to look at the guys that are coming up. Without a doubt, we need to prepare them better.”

Cuba’s strong pitching – once again – didn’t help Colombia’s cause. Eight pitchers combined to give up just three earned runs, with nine strikeouts. Blue Jays reliever Yariel Rodriguez struck out three and now has a Pool A-high six in two appearances.

“To me it's very important to pitch for Cuba,” Rodriguez said postgame. “It's always been prideful to have those four letters on my chest and represent my people, which is the most important thing.”

Team Colombia will close out its WBC slate against Panama on Monday at noon ET (1 p.m. local time, FS2). They’ll need to win to avoid having to qualify for the next tournament. Meanwhile, Cuba will take on Puerto Rico on Monday at 7 p.m. ET on FS1 (8 p.m. local time) in a battle of undefeated teams.