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Host team on verge of making title round
Associated Press
Updated: 03/14/2017 10:44:26 PM MDT
Japan's Nobuhiro Matsuda, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring on Seiichi Uchikawa's sacrifice fly against Cuba in the eighth inning of their second round game at the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on Tuesday. (Shizuo Kambayashi / Associated Press)
TOKYO — Tetsuto Yamada hit two home runs to lead Japan to an 8-5 win over Cuba on Tuesday in the World Baseball Classic.
Pinch hitter Seiichi Uchikawa broke a 5-5 tie on a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and Yamada made it 8-5 with a two-run shot to center field at Tokyo Dome.
Yamada also hit a leadoff homer in the first inning.
"I wasn't pleased with my batting in the first four games," Yamada said. "I was determined to do better today. I felt good in batting practice and felt this could be my day."
Two-time champion Japan improved to 2-0 in Pool E and can advance to next week's championship round in Los Angeles with a win over Israel (1-1) today. The top two teams in the group advance.
The Netherlands (1-1) played Cuba (0-2) late Tuesday night.
Cuba took a 4-2 lead in the fourth on Victor Mesa's single. Japan tied it in the fifth on RBIs by Norichika Aoki and Yoshitomo Tsutsugo.
Each team scored a run in the sixth.
Tsutsugo also had a big game at the plate for Japan. His three hits in his first three at-bats included game-tying singles in the third and fifth innings.
Japan, which finished third at the 2013 WBC, improved to 5-0 including first round games and will be looking to head to the semifinals in Los Angeles on a winning note.
"We have some regrets from the last tournament," Uchikawa said. "So we'll be looking to win tomorrow's game and go to the U.S. undefeated."
Even a win over the Dutch wouldn't guarantee the Cubans a chance to move on. They will need to wait for the result of the Japan-Israel game.
Puerto Rico 3, Dominican Republic 1
SAN DIEGO — Yadier Molina homered and hit an RBI single to lead exuberant Puerto Rico to a victory against the Dominican Republic in the second round of the World Baseball Classic.
Eddie Rosario doubled in the go-ahead run in the fourth and also threw out a runner at the plate for Puerto Rico, which snapped the Dominicans' 11-game WBC winning streak.
It was a rematch of the 2013 WBC title game, which the Dominicans won 3-0 at San Francisco's AT&T Park.