Team USA ended a 33-year drought -- and Cuba's 25-year dominance -- at the IBAF World Cup with a 6-3 victory in the gold medal game on Sunday in Taiwan.
Rockies prospect Jayson Nix and Phillies farmhand Jason Jaramillo each had two RBIs for the United States, which built an early five-run cushion and held on to win this biennial tournament for the first time since 1974.
Cuba has won the event 25 times, including every time it had been contested since 1984. But the Cubans totaled only seven hits against four pitchers and settled for their first World Cup silver medal since 1941.
Angels farmhand Steven Shell (1-0) got the win in relief, allowing one run on two hits with three strikeouts over three innings. Jerry Blevins (Athletics) retired both batters he faced and Jeff Stevens (Indians) got the final two outs.
Stevens was mobbed at the mound after Rays prospect Justin Ruggiano caught Ariel Pestano's fly ball to right field to end the game.
After losing to Italy, 6-2, on Nov. 9, Team USA outscored its opponents, 45-16, during a seven-game winning streak.
Nix drew a bases-loaded walk in a three-run second inning as the United States chased starter Yadel Marti (1-1). Jaramillo started the scoring with an RBI single, then plated another run with a base hit in the third.
Nix, who had 11 homers and 58 RBIs in 124 games with Triple-A Colorado Springs over the summer, smacked his first roundtripper of the tournament in the fourth to extend the lead to 5-0.
Team USA starter Brian Duensing (Twins) cruised into the fifth, when he gave up a two-out, two-run single to Alfredo Despaigne and was replaced by Shell.
The United States padded its lead in the seventh. Evan Longoria (Rays) hit a leadoff single and Dodgers prospect Delwyn Young doubled to the warning track in right field. Ruggiano followed with a bloop single to center fielder that scored Longoria, but Young was thrown out at the plate.
Cuba finally got to Shell in the eighth, when Yuliesky Gourriel hit a two-out double and scored on Alexander Mayeta's bloop single to center field.
Daren Smith is an editor for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs
The Automated ScoreBook
USA vs CUBA
Nov 18, 2007 at Taipei City, Taiwan (Tien Mou Stadium)
USA 6 (9-1) CUBA 3 (8-2)
Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
RASMUS cf.................. 4 0 1 1 DESPAIGNE cf............... 4 0 1 2
NIX 2b..................... 4 1 2 2 OLIVERA 2b................. 1 0 0 0
LAROCHE dh................. 5 0 2 0 REYES 2b.................. 3 0 1 0
PEARCE 1b.................. 5 0 0 0 GOURRIEL 3b................ 4 1 1 0
LONGORIA 3b................ 5 2 2 0 MAYETA 1b.................. 4 0 1 1
YOUNG lf................... 5 1 2 0 CEPEDA lf.................. 4 0 1 0
RUGGIANO rf................ 4 1 3 1 URGELLES rf................ 4 1 1 0
JARAMILLO c................ 4 1 2 2 URRUTIA dh................. 3 0 0 0
BIXLER ss.................. 3 0 0 0 PESTANO c.................. 4 0 0 0
DUENSING p................. 0 0 0 0 PARET ss................... 3 1 1 0
SHELL p................... 0 0 0 0 MARTI p.................... 0 0 0 0
BLEVINS p................. 0 0 0 0 GONZALEZ p................ 0 0 0 0
STEVENS p................. 0 0 0 0 MAYA p.................... 0 0 0 0
MARTINEZ p................ 0 0 0 0
E. Sanchez p.............. 0 0 0 0
BANOS p................... 0 0 0 0
Totals..................... 39 6 14 6 Totals..................... 34 3 7 3
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
USA................. 031 100 100 - 6 14 1
CUBA................ 000 020 010 - 3 7 0
-------------------------------------------
E - YOUNG. LOB - USA 9; CUBA 5. 2B - YOUNG; JARAMILLO; REYES; GOURRIEL. HR - NIX.
HBP - URRUTIA. SB - LAROCHE; RUGGIANO. CS - RASMUS.
USA IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUENSING .................. 4.2 5 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 19 19 5 7
SHELL W,1-0............... 3.0 2 1 1 0 3 1 0 1 0 11 12 3 3
BLEVINS ................... 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 2
STEVENS S,1............... 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 0
CUBA IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARTI L,1-1............... 1.1 4 3 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 8 9 1 1
GONZALEZ .................. 0.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
MAYA ...................... 1.2 5 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 10 10 3 0
MARTINEZ .................. 3.1 5 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 13 13 2 2
E. Sanchez ................ 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 1
BANOS ..................... 1.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 5 2 2
WP - SHELL. HBP - by SHELL (URRUTIA).
Strikeouts - RASMUS; LAROCHE 2; PEARCE; LONGORIA; YOUNG; RUGGIANO; JARAMILLO 2;
BIXLER; DESPAIGNE; CEPEDA; URRUTIA 2; PESTANO; PARET. Walks - RASMUS; NIX; BIXLER.
Umpires -
Start: 4:38 Time: Attendance:
GONZALEZ faced 2 batters in the 2nd.
MAYA faced 2 batters in the 4th.
Game: 110
