Balentien leads Netherlands to 14-1 win over Cuba at WBC (Yahoo Sports)

Former Major Leaguer Wladimir Balentien homered twice and drove in five runs as the Netherlands overpowered Cuba 14-1 in seven innings on Wednesday at the World Baseball Classic. Balentien, who plays in Japan for the Yakult Swallows, hit a three-run homer in the first inning and added a solo blast in the third as the Netherlands jumped out to a 7-0 lead. The Netherlands improved to 2-1 in Pool E. Depending on the outcome of Japan's game later Wednesday with Israel, the Netherlands will either advance directly to next week's championship round in Los Angeles or have a Thursday tiebreaker game at Tokyo Dome.