Dominican Republic tops U.S.

Nelson Cruz hit a go-ahead, three-run home run off Andrew Miller in the eighth inning, Starling Marte added a solo shot off the All-Star reliever and the defending champion Dominican Republic overcame a five-run deficit to beat the United States 7-5 Saturday night in the World Baseball Classic in Miami. The comeback delighted a clamorous crowd of 37,446, the largest for baseball in the five-year history of Marlins Park. The U.S. fell to 1-1 and is in jeopardy of being eliminated in the first round. The Americans, who play Canada today, failed to reach the three previous WBC finals. The Dominicans improved to 10-0 in the past two Classics, including 2-0 this year. They can clinch first place in Pool C and advance to the second round by beating Colombia today. In other WBC games Saturday, Julio Teheran threw five solid innings to help Colombia beat Canada 4-1 in its second WBC pool game. Teheran settled down after surrendering Atlanta Braves teammate Freddie Freeman’s RBI single in the first that gave Canada a 1-0 lead. Teheran allowed 1 run and 2 hits and retired the final 13 hitters he faced after Freeman’s single. Also, All-Star catcher Salvador Perez was injured in a home-plate collision with Drew Butera, his backup with the Kansas City Royals, and Venezuela rallied to beat Italy 11-10 on Martin Prado’s 10th-inning double. Butera stumbled into Perez to end the ninth inning with the score tied at 10-10. Butera appeared to try limiting contact with Perez but still fell into his left knee, and Perez could not put weight on the leg as he was helped off the field.