Canada secured its first-ever berth in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals with a 7-2 victory over Cuba on Wednesday in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The win gave Team Canada a 3-1 record and the top seed in Pool A, thanks to a prior head-to-head triumph over Puerto Rico. Cuba finished third in the pool with a 2-2 mark, marking the first time it failed to advance past the group stage.
The game at Hiram Bithorn Stadium was a win-or-go-home affair for both teams. Canada, managed by Ernie Whitt since the tournament's inception in 2006, broke through after five previous appearances where they never reached the quarterfinals, with their best prior finish being ninth place.
Canada opened scoring in the third inning against Cuban starter Liván Moinelo. Tyler O'Neill and Abraham Toro singled, setting up Owen Caissie's sacrifice fly to right field, which plated O'Neill for a 1-0 lead.
In the fifth, Toro extended the advantage with a 420-foot solo home run off Yariel Rodríguez, the longest blast at the stadium that week. Toro finished 3-for-5 and leads Canada with six extra-base hits in the tournament.
The sixth inning proved decisive, as Canada scored three unearned runs amid Cuba's fielding errors: a dropped pop-up by Yiddi Cappe, a wild pickoff throw by Rodríguez, and catcher's interference by Andrys Perez. Bo Naylor's RBI double and Otto Lopez's two-run single capped the rally, making it 5-1.
On the mound, Cal Quantrill pitched five innings of one-run ball, a stark improvement from his 2023 WBC outing. The bullpen, including Adam Macko and James Paxton, navigated jams to preserve the win. Paxton, a late addition from retirement, struck out Yoán Moncada with runners on base in the seventh.
"I'm very excited about it, needless to say," Whitt said postgame. "It's been a long haul."
Abraham Toro added, "Canada is definitely a country that is slept on... hopefully we can be an inspiration for a younger generation."
Cuban manager German Mesa acknowledged the errors: "Well, everybody who knows about baseball knows the errors that happen and explainable errors... we did put up a fight."
Canada will face Pool B's runner-up in Houston later this week, continuing their historic run with three wins, more than in any previous Classic.
