Canada defeats Cuba to win Pool A, advance to World Baseball Classic quarterfinals for first time

Team Canada has reached the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic for the first time after defeating Cuba 7-2 in a decisive winner-take-all matchup Wednesday in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Canada secured the historic win behind a home run from Abraham Toro and a two-run single by former Blue Jay Otto Lopez.

The victory improved Canada's record to 3-1, eliminating Cuba (2-2) and giving Canada the top spot in Group A ahead of Puerto Rico, which also finished 3-1.

Brothers Bo Naylor and Josh Naylor each contributed RBI performances, while Owen Caissie drove in two runs.

Reliever James Paxton was dominant on the mound, striking out six batters over 2⅔ scoreless innings to help seal the win.

With the victory, Canada advances to the quarterfinals in Houston this weekend, where they will be joined by Puerto Rico.

The loss marks the first time Cuba has ever been eliminated in the opening round of the tournament.

Cuba struggled defensively, committing three errors in the game.

One key misplay came in the seventh inning when left fielder Ariel Martinez misjudged a fly ball from Toro that dropped for a double.

Canada broke the game open in the sixth inning with a three-run rally that included a series of Cuban miscues.

The inning featured a dropped popup, a foul ball that fell untouched, a wild pickoff attempt, and catcher's interference on Andrys Perez.

Perez also allowed a passed ball that led to Canada's first run of the inning.

Canada threatened early, loading the bases in the first inning before Matt Davidson ended the rally with a popout against Cuban pitcher Livan Moinelo.

The Canadians broke the scoreless tie in the third when Owen Caissie hit a sacrifice fly.

Toro added to the lead in the fifth inning with a towering 420-foot home run to right field off a splitter from Blue Jays reliever Yariel Rodriguez.

Cuba answered in the bottom half of the inning when Yoelkis Guibert drove in a run with a groundout against Canadian starter Cal Quantrill.

Quantrill pitched five innings, allowing just two hits and one unearned run while earning the win.

Canada extended its lead to 3-1 in the sixth when Bo Naylor hit an RBI double.

Martinez responded with his third hit of the game in the bottom half of the inning to drive in a run for Cuba.

Josh Naylor added another run for Canada in the seventh with an RBI single on a soft fly ball to left field that popped out of Martinez's glove as he attempted a sliding catch.

Cuba struggled to capitalize on scoring opportunities, finishing just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

Blue Jays left-handed pitching prospect Adam Macko escaped a bases-loaded situation in the sixth by striking out Yiddi Cappe on a curveball, and Paxton later struck out Yoan Moncada in the seventh to strand runners at the corners.

Later Wednesday, Mexico and Italy were scheduled to face off in Houston in a Group B matchup that would determine whether the United States advances to the next round.

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