Suarez, Santander catapult Venezuela
VENEZUELA 4, NICARAGUA 1
MIAMI — Eugenio Suarez and Anthony Santander had two hits each as Venezuela beat Nicaragua 4-1 Tuesday and improved to 3-0 in the World Baseball Classic.
Venezuela was in position to reach the quarterfinals with a game to spare if the Dominican Republic defeated Israel later Tuesday in a matchup of teams with 1-1 records in Group D.
Suarez’s two-run single capped a three-run fourth that overcame a 1-0 deficit. Andres Gimenez’s run-scoring single tied the score, and Suarez’s lined a ball to right-center that scored Santander and Gimenez.
Santander added an RBI double in the fifth.
Jose Ruiz got the win, pitching two perfect innings of relief. Carlos Hernandez, Jose Quijada, Silvino Bracho and Jose Alvarado followed and limited Nicaragua to four hits over the final five innings.
Brandon Leyton’s RBI groundout against starter Eduardo Rodriguez put Nicaragua ahead 1-0 in the second.
Rodriguez allowed seven hits and struck out three in two-plus innings.
Venezuela closes Group D against Israel today.
Nicaragua finished 0-4 in its first WBC and will be forced to participate in qualifying for the 2026 tournament. The Nicaraguans hit .192 and and were outscored 22-4.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 10, ISRAEL 0 (7)
MIAMI — Manny Machado homered, singled and drove in three runs as the Dominican Republic improved to 2-1 and clinched the top spot in Pool D for Venezuela.
American League Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez and Eloy Jimenez each had two hits for the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic finished with 15 hits against seven Israeli pitchers — the last a two-run double by Jean Segura that ended the game in the seventh because of the tournament’s mercy rule.
Jimenez gave the Dominican Republic a quick lead with his run-scoring single in the first.
Machado’s solo shot and Ketel Marte’s RBI double in the third made it 3-0. Machado hit a slider from reliever Evan Kravetz 437 feet into the pavilion above left-center for his second homer of the tournament.
The Dominican Republic broke it open in the sixth. Rodriguez doubled in two runs and Machado followed with a tworun single.
CANADA 5, COLOMBIA 0
PHOENIX — Otto Lopez hit a threerun homer, Noah Skirrow threw five quality innings and Canada shut out Colombia.
Canada led 1-0 going into the eighth inning, but Owen Caissie had a two-out, RBI single to push the lead to 2-0. Lopez’s three-run shot in the ninth gave them an even bigger cushion.
Canada’s pitching staff gave up just five hits and one walk, bouncing back from a 12-1 loss to the United States on Monday.
Colombia’s Oscar Mercado had two hits. Adrian Almeida took the loss, giving up one run over three innings.
Canada first baseman and Los Angeles Dodgers star Freddie Freeman left the game in the fourth inning because of a hamstring injury. He ran gingerly out of the batter’s box after popping up in the third.
Canada improved to 2-1 in Group C, while Colombia is 1-2.
MONDAY’S LATE GAME
UNITED STATES 12, CANADA 1 (7)
PHOENIX — Mike Trout hit a threerun homer, Lance Lynn threw five impressive innings and the United States used a nine-run first to cruise past Canada.
The game was called after seven innings because of the tournament’s 10run mercy rule.
The U.S. improved to 2-1 and bounced back from an 11-5 loss to Mexico on Sunday with its best offensive performance of the tournament. Canada fell to 1-1 before a crowd of 29,621 at Chase Field.
The Americans sent 12 batters to the plate in the first inning. Nolan Arenado had a two-run double to start the scoring and Trout finished it by belting a low fastball into the left-center seats.
Lynn got the win, giving up one run and two hits while saving the bullpen for the team’s final game of pool play against Colombia today. United States Manager Mark DeRosa had to use eight pitchers on Sunday in the loss to Mexico.
Canada scored its lone run on Jared Young’s homer. Left-hander Mitch Bratt took the loss, giving up six earned runs while getting only one out.