Havana, March 8 (RHC) – The Dominican Republic today secured its second victory in the World Baseball Classic by knockout against the Netherlands, before more than 32,000 fans gathered at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida.
The team managed by former Major League Baseball player Albert Pujols defeated the Netherlands 12-1 in a game dominated from start to finish by the Caribbean squad.
A home run by Juan Soto in the seventh inning sealed the victory by knockout in the tournament, which uses that rule when a team takes a 10-run lead after the seventh inning.
The Dominican offense was led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who hit a two-run homer, while Junior Caminero and Austin Wells also went deep in a six-run fifth inning.
With this win, the Dominican team has hit seven home runs in its first two games and shares a 2-0 record with Venezuela in Group D, while the Netherlands fell to 1-2.
On the mound, Luis Severino pitched four innings and allowed only one run, a home run by Didi Gregorius.
The Dominican Republic will play again this Monday, March 9, against Israel at 12:00 noon (Dominican Republic time).
This will be the Dominican team’s third game in Group D, after facing Nicaragua and the Netherlands. They will then close out the first round on March 11 against Venezuela.
In Group D, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela share the lead with two wins and no losses. The Netherlands follows with a 1-2 record, while Israel (0-1) and Nicaragua (0-2) are at the bottom of the standings.
