USA, Dominicans rally to win WBC pools

Adam Jones belted the go-ahead two-run double in the eighth and pitcher Heath Bell earned the win as the USA rallied to beat Canada 9-4 in a winner-take-all contest.

Robinson Cano had three hits and blasted a fifth-inning home run to help lift the Dominicans to a 4-2 win over host Puerto Rico in a battle for first place in Pool C.

“It was like a game seven and we don't need to get pumped up for a game seven,” American outfielder Jones said. “We were just fortunate to get bigger hits.”

The USA finished first in Pool D and will play Pool C runner up Puerto Rico in one of two second round games on Tuesday in Miami. Pool C top seed Dominicans will face reigning European champions Italy in the other.

The USA fell into a 2-0 hole early and trailed 3-2 after seven innings, but Jones' double off Canada pitcher Jimmy Henderson put the Americans ahead to stay in front of a crowd of 19,413 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

Jones finished with three RBI for the USA who eventually broke the game open with another four runs in the ninth.

U.S. catcher Jonathan Lucroy had an RBI single in the final inning before Eric Hosmer cleared the bases with a double.

Bell, who plays in the major leagues for the Arizona Diamondbacks, posted the win with a scoreless seventh inning and then pitcher Steve Cisek got out of a bases loaded eighth-inning jam by getting Canadian Tim Smith to ground out to end the inning.

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