March 8, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Dominican Republic left fielder Juan Soto (22) reacts after hitting a two-run home run that won the game by mercy rule in the 7th inning against the Netherlands at Rondepo Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Ariel Martinez and Erisbel Arruebarrena each homered as Cuba got off to a hot start and won 7-4 against Colombia in Group A action at the World Baseball Classic in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sunday.
Martinez and Arruebarrena hit four runs on first-inning homers, which gave Cuba (2-0 in Pool A) a 4-0 lead after five batters in the bottom of the first. Yoelkis Guibert went 2-for-3 and Yiddi Cappe added insurance with a two-run triple in the sixth to extend the lead to 7-2.
The offense helped Cuba overcome a pitching staff that gave up more walks (10) than strikeouts (9). Denny Larondo recorded the win despite giving up four walks in two innings.
Gio Urshela added two walks and an RBI single for Colombia (0-3), which got two RBIs on a sacrifice fly and pitched hit from Tito Polo, who was hitless. Luis Patino took the mound and allowed two hits and four runs in one-third of an inning.
Italy 7, UK 4
Back-to-back home runs by Andrew Fischer and JJ D’Orazio helped the Italian national team recover from an early deficit to beat Team England in Houston.
They were two of five Italian players with two hits as the team knocked in 12 runs, including an RBI double by Miles Mastrobuoni and a run-scoring triple by Sam Antonacci. For Italy (2-0 Pool B), starter Dylan DeLucia threw two runs in the first inning, but he struck out five over 3 2/3 innings, leading to the team’s 13 strikeouts off seven different pitchers.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. had UK’s only RBI (0-3) on a hit in the eighth inning. Nate Eaton and Chisholm each had two hits to fill the top two spots in the lineup. Nick Wells took the loss, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits over two-thirds of an inning.
Dominican Republic 12, Netherlands 1 (7)
The Dominican Republic national team (2-0 Pool D) hit four home runs as it defeated the Dutch national team in Miami by shortening the run rule.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Junior Caminero, Austin Wells and Juan Soto all homered half of the Dominicans’ eight hits. Luis Severino struck out five and allowed one run in four innings, and the three pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts and one walk.
Didi Gregorius homered in the second inning for the Netherlands (1-2) and went 0-for-5 with runners on the scoreboard. Arij Fransen took the loss, allowing three runs, two hits and three walks over two innings.
–Field level media
