Dominican Republic reaches semifinals of Caribbean Series

Published Feb. 6, 2018 12:37 a.m. ET

GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) Bryan Evans pitched seven solid innings, Junior Lake hit a two-run homer and the Dominican Republic defeated Cuba 7-1 on Monday night to reach the semifinals of the Caribbean Series.

Evans allowed five hits and one run with eight strikeouts to get the win.

Lake homered in the fifth for Aguilas Cibae�as (2-1), who join Puerto Rico (2-1), Cuba (2-1) and Venezuela (2-2) in the semifinals. The host team from Mexico (0-3) was eliminated with one game left to play.

The semifinal matchups will be determined after Tuesday's games.

Edwin Espinal and Luis Valenzuela each had two RBIs for the Dominicans, who broke an 11-game losing streak Sunday and are trying to win their first title since 2012.

In the first game, David Vidal, Rusney Castillo, Jesmuel Valent�n and Anthony Garcia homered as Puerto Rico beat Venezuela 12-7.

Vidal, the MVP of the Puerto Rican league, finished with four RBIs.

Puerto Rico is trying to win back-to-back championships for the first time since 1992-1993.