Venezuela tops Cuba in Caribbean series of baseball

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) Alex Romero, Jose Martinez and Sandy Leon drove in runs to lead Venezuela's Aragua Tigers over Cuba's Ciego de Avila 3-1 Thursday and advance to the Caribbean Series semifinals.

The loss dropped Cuba to 0-3, and it needs a victory Friday to avoid elimination.

''We still have life. We haven't played the best baseball, but we still have a chance tomorrow when we play against the Dominican Republic,'' said Cuba's Yosvani Alarcon.

The Aragua Tigers (3-1) moved into second place behind Mexico (3-0).

Also Thursday, Puerto Rico's Santurce Cangrejeros beat the Dominican Republic's Escogido Leones 2-1 when Neftali Soto homered in the bottom of the 14th inning. Puerto Rico's Fernando Cruz got the win with two innings of relief.

The Dominican team (0-3) will be eliminated unless it beats Cuba.