Cuba Backs into Caribbean Series Semifinals

Alexander Malleta’s homer was one of the few bright spots for Cuba in its 6-2 loss to Venezuela on Thursday.

HAVANA TIMES — The Dominican Republic defeated Mexico 3-2 Thursday night in San Juan, Puerto Rico, giving Cuba a back door entry into semifinals of the Caribbean Series to be played on Saturday.

The Cubans (1-3) played earlier in the day losing their third of four tournament qualifying round games 6-2 to Venezuela.

However with only five teams vying for the four semifinal tickets, Cuba’s win over Puerto Rico (0-3) assures the team a chance to continue on even if Puerto Rico wins their game on Friday with the Dominican Republic.

The Puerto Ricans would then tie Cuba with identical 1-3 records but the Cuban victory in their head-to-head game would make the difference. The results of the games on Friday between Venezuela and Mexico and the DR vs. Puerto Rico will determine Cuba’s rival for Saturday.

Also see: Cuba Falls 6-2 to Venezuela