The victory left both clubs level with Cuba and Dominican Republic on 1-1 in their second-round group, setting the stage for dramatic showdowns the next two days to decide berths in Saturday's semi-finals at San Diego, California.

Venezuela will face the Dominicans on Tuesday and the Puerto Ricans meet Cuba on Wednesday with winners advancing and losers eliminated.

The other semi-finalists will be decided from a second-round group in Anaheim, California, that includes Japan, South Korea, Mexico and the United States.

Each game is a rematch of a first-round contest. The Dominican Republic beat Venezuela 11-5 on March 7 at Orlando, Florida, while Puerto Rico beat Cuba 12-2 Friday in seven innings, only the second "mercy rule" loss in Cuban history.

Martinez, the Cleveland Indians standout who drove in more runs than any other Major League Baseball catcher last season, swatted a blast off reliever Ivan Maldonado over the rightfield wall that gave Venezuela a 6-0 lead.

Endy Chavez had smashed a two-run homer to centerfield with two outs in the fifth inning off Joel Pineiro, a Seattle Mariners starter, to open the scoring.

Venezuelan starter Carlos Zambrano, a Chicago Cubs right-hander, struck out five and allowed only two hits in four shutout innings.

Minnesota righthander Carlos Silva followed with two innings of scorless relief and five other relievers allowed only one Puerto Rican hit over the last three innings.