THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY — Yulieski Gourriel, Ariel Pestano and Frederich Cepeda all homered to help Cuba rout Mexico 16-4 in seven innings Thursday night to secure first place in Group B at the World Baseball Classic.
Pestano and Cepeda each hit three-run homers in a nine-run seventh inning rally to lead Cuba to a win by the mercy rule. Gourriel hit a tw-run homer in a five run fourth and finished with four RBI’s.
Yulieski Gonzalez (1-0) gave up one hit and one run, with three strikeouts and two walks in two innings of relief for Cuba.
Francisco Campos (0-1) allowed four runs and four hits in 1 2-3 innings. He struck out three and walked one.
Cuba finished the first round undefeated in three games, and Mexico dropped to 2-2.
Mexico will open the second round on Sunday in San Diego against South Korea, winner of Group A in Tokyo, while Cuba will face Japan in a rematch of the 2006 final won by Japan.
Freddy Sandoval, Oscar Robles and Karim Garcia hit solo homers for Mexico.
Mexico’s Foro Sol, located at 2,240 metres above sea level, proved to be a hitters delight, with 28 homers hit in the six games played here.
