Baseball

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

Dutch treat: Netherlands beats Cuba 7-6 to advance to World Baseball Classic semifinals

By: Jim Armstrong, The Associated Press

Posted: 03/11/2013 9:26 AM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 03/11/2013 6:08 PM

Netherlands' designated hitter Andruw Jones (25) scores a run on Kalian Sams' sacrifice fly as teammates celebrate their walk-off win over Cuba in their World Baseball Classic second round game at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Monday, March 11, 2013. Netherlands won 7-6 to advance to finals.(AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

TOKYO - Kalian Sams' ninth-inning sacrifice fly scored Andruw Jones with the winning run, capping a comeback from a two-run, eighth-inning deficit and lifting the Netherlands past Cuba 7-6 Monday and into the World Baseball Classic semifinals.

The Netherlands, the first European team to reach the final four, advanced along with two-time defending champion Japan. At the semifinals in San Francisco on March 17-18, they will be joined by two teams from among the United States, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Italy.

"This game will go down as the biggest game in Dutch history," Netherlands manager Hensley Muelens said. "To come back like that after being down in the eighth is amazing."

The Dutch had beaten Cuba 6-2 in the opening game of the second round.

"I told the guys before the game the better team will win, and tonight the better team won," Muelens said. "The guys were resilient and stayed together, and that's why we won."

Cuba went ahead 6-4 in the eighth when Shairon Martis walked Frederich Cepeda, Yasmany Tomas had a one-out RBI single off Leon Boyd and Eriel Sanchez hit a sacrifice fly.

Kalian Sams walked on four pitches from Norberto Gonzalez leading off the bottom half and, after a pair of strikeouts, Andrelton Simmons homered to left on a 2-1 pitch.

"I felt like I had to step up," Simmons said. "He gave me a pitch to hit, and I was really happy I could tie the game for us."

Jones reached on a fielding error by third baseman Yulieski Gourriel with one out in the ninth, Curt Smith singled him to second and Raciel Iglesias relieved loser Yander Guevara.

Xander Bogaerts' single loaded the bases, Diosdany Castillo came in to pitch, and Sams flied to deep centre as Jones came home.

Loek Van Mil, the fourth Dutch pitcher, got the win with a two-hit ninth.

Jones' bases-loaded sacrifice fly and Smith's RBI single put the Dutch ahead in the third, but Jose Fernandez's RBI single and Jose Abreu's homer off Netherlands starter Orlando Yntema tied the score in the fourth.

The Dutch took a 4-2 lead in the bottom half when Simmons hit a sacrifice fly, and Randolph Oduber stole third and scored on catcher Frank Morejon's throwing error.

Gourriel retied it with a two-run double in the fifth.

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Baseball

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.