Photo by AP Photo/Luis Gutierrez By Robert Dominguez Baseball’s Final Four has been decided — and the Dominican Republic won’t be one of them. Heavily favored to repeat as World Baseball Classic champions thanks to a star-studded lineup, the Dominican team was beaten 6-3 by the U.S. Saturday night at Petco Park in San Diego. The loss kept the Dominican team out of the WBC semifinals,  while the U.S. moves on to play Japan Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Puerto Rico,  which is a perfect 6-0 after the first two rounds of the international tournament — and now

AP/Koji Sasahara By Robert Dominguez Cuba took advantage of an early pitching change by China to win its first game in the World Baseball Classic Tuesday night. The 6-0 shutout played in Tokyo was a must-win for the Cubans, who lost their first game of the international series to Japan this week and needed the victory to stay alive in Pool B competition. Playing in Tokyo, Cuba couldn’t break through against Chinese starter Bruce Chen in the early innings. The former major leaguer, who was kept on a tight pitching count by China manager John McLaren so he could pitch

By Robert Dominguez They couldn’t conquer the Caribbean, but now the Dominicans are out for World domination. As the World Baseball Classic kicks off on Sunday, March 6, all eyes will be on the powerhouse Dominican Republic team as it looks to repeat as WBC champion four years after winning the international tournament that pits some of the best players on Earth — mostly Major Leaguers taking a break from spring training — competing for their native countries. This year’s Dominican team is hardly the same squad that got steamrolled in the annual Caribbean World Series in February, which lost

Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images By Robert Dominguez Looks like Sergio Romo may be joining the enemy.  The San Francisco Giants reliever will likely sign a one-year deal with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers this week, according to MLB.com.  Romo, who won three World Series with the Giants and excelled as their closer, spent the past two seasons as a set-up man, though arm trouble limited him to just 40 appearances in 2016.  The 33-year-old righty spent the winter playing in the Mexican League, and the showcase is paying off with the expected Dodgers contract -- and a place on

Photo by Minnesota Twins By Robert Dominguez He's got a World Series ring and a permanent place in Cooperstown, but someday soon Ivan Rodriguez may add another baseball rarity to his résumé: Getting to see his progeny play in the Major Leagues. Rodriguez, whose 21-year career as one of baseball's best-ever backstops recently made him a first-ballot Hall of Famer, is also the proud papa of Dereck Rodriguez, a 24-year-old prospect with the Minnesota Twins currently playing in the Caribbean Series for the Puerto Rican team. As a pitcher. The elder Rodriguez apparently doesn't mind what position Dereck plays as