Cal Quantrill leads Canada to its first WBC quarterfinal, pitching 5 sterling innings

Abraham Toro homers against Cuba while James Paxton strikes out 6 in relief

Canada has advanced to the World Baseball Classic's playoff round for the first time in the international tournament's 20-year history.

Bo Naylor had an RBI double and Otto Lopez followed that with a two-run single as Canada scored three in the sixth inning to beat Cuba 7-2 on Wednesday in San Juan, Puerto Rico to reach the quarterfinals.

Although Canada has participated in all five WBCs (2006, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2023), it has never reached the knockout stage.

The Canadians finish the round-robin stage of the tournament in one of the top two spots in Pool A, but their playoff opponents are not yet known.

Canada and Puerto Rico will play quarterfinals in Houston this weekend.