Cruz, Polanco homer to lift Dominican Republic to 3-0 win (Yahoo Sports)

The Dominican Republic took a step toward a repeat title in the World Baseball Classic thanks to impressive home runs by Nelson Cruz and Gregory Polanco. The Dominicans also got some nice pitching in a 3-0 victory Thursday night that pushed Venezuela to the brink of elimination. ''We understand the importance of this game and what we had to do,'' Nelson said after he hit his third homer of the tournament.