Righthander Kevin Pucetas wriggled out of a messy situation to keep the U.S. within striking distance going into the bottom of the ninth. Pucetas gave up two hits but got bailed out by a double play to end the inning.

DH Scott Campbell grounded out to second to start the inning. Che-Hsuan Lin followed with a single, and Jesus Montero followed with another. But Gorkys Hernandez hit into an inning-ending double play to keep the slim U.S. hopes alive.

Pucetas mixed a 91-92 mph fastball, a 73-75 mph curveball and an 82-84 mph slider in his inning.