This opening round game in San Juan is, as of this moment, the only extra inning game in WBC history. Surprisingly, Panama was able to take Cuba to eleven before falling 8-6.
While this was a big surprise in retrospect, perhaps only matched on an individual game level by South Africa’s near-miss against Canada, it had not yet reached that status as Panama had yet to be no-hit by The Netherlands and some observers (myself among them) still doubted Cuba as a championship contender. It took two Cuban runs in the seventh to pull the game even at four, and they would take the lead in the top of the ninth on Yulieski Gourriel’s two-run, two-out homer. But Panama fought back in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases with none out, getting a one-out single from Olmedo Saenz to push one across, then tying the game when Agnoly was hit with two outs. Ruben Rivera had a chance to win it, but he popped to second.
In the eleventh, Cuba staged a two-out rally, and in the bottom of the frame, Carlos Lee flew to left on a 3-1 pitch as the potential tying run.
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