No. 41 Israel, the lowest-ranked nation in the World Baseball Classic, defeated No. 5 Cuba, 4-1, in the first game of the second round at the Tokyo Dome.
All of Israel’s victories in the global tournament have come against Top 10 nations in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings: No. 3 Korea, No. 4 Korea, No. 5 Cuba and No. 9 Netherlands.
Israel will take on follow Europeans Netherlands next, before meeting No. 1 Japan.
Opening Round – Group D – Jalisco
No. 7 Venezuela defeated No. 11 Italy, 11-10, in extra innings. Florida Marlins’ Martin Prado blasted an RBI double in the 10th to give Venezuela its first win in the Classic. Prado finished 5-for-5 with 3 RBI. Italy and Venezuela are 1-1.
No. 12 Puerto Rico defeated No. 6 Mexico, 9-4, powered by U-18 Baseball World Cup 2010 star Francisco Lindor. The MLB Gold Glove winner had a 2-run homer and went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI.
Puerto Rico moves to 2-0, while Mexico falls to 0-2 in the 3-game opening round.
