Baseball World Cup Pool F, Haarlem:
Puerto Rico – Great Britain 5-4
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Puerto Rico barely beat Great Britain on Thursday afternoon at the Baseball World Cup in Haarlem. The Major League experienced squad took a fast 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second on a two-run double by Stephen Morales. But the British team came back, scoring four runs in the top of the third, smelling an upset. Aeden McQueary-Ennis had the big hit during the rally with a two-run single to left center.
However the joy only lasted for a few minutes, as Puerto Rico evened the score in the bottom of the same period on a pair of RBI singles by Irving Falu and Miguel Abreu. In the fifth it was Alex Cintron, who saved the day with a RBI single to seal the 5-4 victory. The 30-year-old Cintron is looking back at 680 games in the big leagues.
Jose Santiago started for the Puerto Ricans and conceded four runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings. Angel Garcia replaced him and picked up the win in relief. Orlando Roman closed it out with five strikeouts in four dominant innings. Alex Smith went the distance for GB, allowing ten hits, five runs (3 ER) and three bb.