MIAMI — Paul Goldschmidt, Trea Turner and an unrelenting lineup kept putting crooked numbers on the scoreboard Sunday night, a dynamic display of the huge gap between an American team of Major League Baseball players and Cubans struggling on the world stage as top players have left the island nation.
Turner hit two home runs to give him a tournament-leading four, driving in four runs to lead the United States to a 14-2 rout of Cuba that sent the reigning champion back to the World Baseball Classic final.
Goldschmidt also homered and had four RBIs, and Cedric Mullins went deep in a game interrupted three times by fans running on the field to display protest signs.
“The team kind of represents the government over there, and people aren’t too happy about it,” U.S. manager Mark DeRosa said.
In Tuesday night’s final, the Americans will face either Japan or Mexico, who meet in Monday’s semifinal.