Abraham Toro homered, Otto Lopez hit a two-run single and Canada defeated Cuba 7-2 to advance out of Pool A at the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Canada won Pool A after tying Puerto Rico at the top of the standings with a 3-1 record and holding the head-to-head tiebreaker with the pool host team. Cuba (2-2) would have advanced with a win.
Canadian starter Cal Quantrill pitched five stellar innings, allowing two hits and one unearned run. Quantrill (five) and reliever James Paxton (six) combined for 11 of the Canadians’ 13 strikeouts. Owen Caissie had an RBI sac fly and a run-scoring single, and both Bo and Josh Naylor added an RBI.
Ariel Martinez contributed an RBI single and accounted for three of Cuba’s five hits. Yoan Moncada’s double was the only extra-base hit.
