The finals are set!
MEXICO 5, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 4 (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC HOME TEAM)
Mexico: Jose Manuel Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with two runs. Russell Branyan was 1-for-2 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one. Terance Marin (White Sox) pitched six innings, giving up two unearned runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
Dominican Republic: Hector Gomez (Milwaukee) was 1-for-3 with a double, scoring once and driving in one. Maikel Franco (Philadelphia) was 2-for-4 with a double. Edward Valdez pitched two shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk with one strikeout.
The game: A two-run error followed by a sacrifice fly to give Mexico a 3-0 lead in the second. Branyan singled in a run in the third and Ali Solis (Dodgers) had an RBI double in the sixth to make it 5-0. The Dominican Republic got back into the game with two in the sixth. Gomez doubled in a run in the eighth and a run scored on a ground out in the ninth to make it 5-4. The Dominican Republic had the tying run on third with one out, but a pop up and a ground out ended the game.
CUBA 8, VENEZUELA 4 (VENEZUELA HOME TEAM)
Cuba: Frederich Cepeda was 4-for-5 with two doubles and a triple, scoring once and driving in five. Yulieski Gourriel was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. Norge Ruiz pitched 4.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up five hits and one walk with two strikeouts.
Venezuela: Oswaldo Arcia (Minnesota) was 1-for-1 with three walks and two runs. Jose Castillo was 3-for-4 with a run. Daryl Thompson pitched 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk with four strikeouts.
The game: Ehire Adrianza (San Francisco) singled in a run in the third and an RBI double by Felix Perez (Cincinnati) highlighted a three-run fourth to give Venezuela a 4-0 lead. In the fifth, Cepeda circled the bases on a three-run triple-plus-error to cut the lead to 4-3. Gourriel's RBI single tied the score in the sixth and a bases-loaded hit batsman put Cuba in front. Cepeda then followed with a three-run double that put Cuba up 8-4. Venezuela got two men on in the seventh and again in the eighth, but could not score again.
TODAY'S TILT
Cuba at Mexico in the finals. All games are played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.