US Beats Cuba 10-5 to Win Baseball World Cup
US beats Cuba 10-5 to defend baseball World Cup title, finishing with 14-game win streak
(Picture copyright: AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer
The United States defended its baseball World Cup title on Sunday with a 10-5 victory over Cuba that was powered by four RBIs from Lucas May, including a three-run home run.
"Other than playing in a World Series, this is as big as it gets," said May, a Los Angeles Dodgers prospect who went 2 for 4. "It feels good to wear a gold medal."
The U.S. team, consisting entirely of Triple-A and Double-A players, finished with 14 straight wins after opening the competition with a loss to Venezuela.
"It was a difficult loss and the players took it to heart and we just regrouped and did some different things and everything else is obviously indicative," U.S. manager Eddie Rodriguez said. "They persevered through a lot of things. We had some rigorous travel and they just came together."
The Americans also beat the Cubans in the 2007 final, snapping their run of nine consecutive titles.
The U.S. set up the victory by rallying for six runs off three Cuban pitchers to snap a 4-4 in the seventh inning.
U.S. starter Cory Luebke struck out seven and walked none over 4 1-3 innings and Brad Lincoln (3-0) pitched the next 4 1-3 innings for the win. He gave up six hits, striking out two and walking one.
Nate Field came on in the ninth inning after the Cubans loaded the bases with two outs. He earned the save by getting Cuban slugger Alfredo Despaigne to pop out to deep left.
The U.S. players jumped on top of each other and unfurled a giant American flag to celebrate in front of a sold-out crowd of 5,000 at the Steno Borghese stadium.
U.S. first baseman Justin Smoak, a Texas Rangers prospect, led the U.S. with nine home runs and 22 RBIs to earn the tournament's MVP award.
Cuban starter Norge Vera (3-1) struck out eight and walked one through 6 2-3 innings.
Despaigne went 3 for 5 and added to his tournament record with his 11th homer of the tournament — a solo shot in the eighth inning.
