Miami. It was a testament what excitement can be created with the World Baseball Classic. In front of a full house at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida the Dominican Republic had a feel of home field advantage against the United States in a 3-1 win, which sends them into the semi-finals. They are joining the Netherlands and Japan in San Francisco with the fourth berth being determined between Puerto Rico and Team USA on Friday evening.
Second Round
USA 1 – Dominican Republic 3
It had a playoff like atmosphere at Marlins Park in Miami, which culminated in the ninth inning when the Dominican Republic scored twice after RBI singles of Erick Aybar and Jose Reyes to seal a 3-1 victory over Team USA. Hanley Ramirez had tied the game in the second after the US had taken a 1-0 lead in the first. Otherwise pitching dominated in between with the Dominican staff allowing only six singles and two walks all game long.
Notes on Japan and the Netherlands
Team Netherlands and Japan are already qualified for the final round and are awaiting their opponents. But they are not resting. Each team played an exhibition game against a MLB club in Spring Training on Thursday. Team Samurai beat World Series winner San Francisco Giants 6-3 in Scottsdale. The Dutch team defeated the San Diego Padres 9-3.
The Netherlands also announced another roster replacement. Reliever Kenley Jansen of the Los Angeles Dodgers will join the team for the final round, as Jonatan Isenia is out with an elbow injury. He was the Dutch catcher in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, but converted to pitching afterwards. The Netherlands already had added Jurickson Profar for the also injured Yurendell De Caster to the roster. Replacing injured players is possible between each round of the World Baseball Classic.
Outlook
On Thursday evening the United States will face Puerto Rico at Marlins Park in Miami. The winner will join Japan, the Netherlands and the Dominican Republic in the semi-finals, while the loser gets eliminated from the tournament. Both teams already met in the opener of the second round with Team USA winning 7-1 behind David Wright’s five RBI and strong pitching of Gio Gonzalez. Wright is currently sidelined with back problems. Ryan Vogelsong of the San Francisco Giants will start for Team USA. Nelson Figueroa is the scheduled starting pitcher for Puerto Rico.
The Dominican Republic is going to have Friday off before facing the winner of USA vs. Puerto Rico in the seeding game on Saturday afternoon. Japan and the Netherlands will play two more exhibition games on Friday before departing for San Francisco. Team Samurai takes on the Chicago Cubs in Mesa. The Dutch team faces the Seattle Mariners in Peoria.
Schedule
Friday, March 15, 2013
Second Round:
19:00 USA – Puerto Rico (Marlins Park in Miami, Florida)
Exhibition Games:
13:05 Chicago Cubs – Japan (Mesa, Arizona)
19:05 Seattle Mariners – Netherlands (Peoria, Arizona)
(all times local)
Complete Schedule can be found at www.worldbaseballclassic.com.
The 2013 World Baseball Classic is officially sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). The winner will be named IBAF World Champion for the first time. The final round will be played at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California from March 17 to 19. More information including highlights can be found at www.worldbaseballclassic.com
