The Dominican Republic failed to advance to the quarterfinals after losing against Puerto Rico on the 16th
Another unexpected scene came out in this competition, which has repeated twists and turns. ‘Championship candidate’ Dominican Republic packed up early.
The Dominican Republic lost 2-5 to Puerto Rico in the final match of Group D in the first round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) held at Londipo Park in Miami, Florida, USA on the 16th (hereinafter Korean time).
With this, the Dominican Republic, which recorded 2 wins and 2 losses, was eliminated in the first round in 3rd place, behind 1st place Venezuela (4 wins) and 2nd place Puerto Rico (3 wins 1 loss). The dream of the Dominican Republic, which had been aiming for a return to the top 10 years after the 2013 (three times) competition, was thwarted. Puerto Rico, who finished second in Group D and advanced to the second round (quarterfinals), will clash with Mexico, who ranked first in Group C, on the 19th. Puerto Rico in the final match that didn’t work out properly was Francisco Lindor (center fielder) – Quique Hernandez (center fielder) – MJ Melendez (right fielder) – Emmanuel Rivera (third baseman) – Javier Baez (second baseman) – Eddie Rosario (left fielder) – Cristian Vasquez
(
Designated hitter), Bimael Machin (first baseman), and Martin Maldonado (catcher) were the starting lineups. Fernando Cruz took the mound as the starting pitcher.토토사이트
Dominican Republic Juan Soto (left field) – Julio Rodriguez (center field) – Manny Machado (3 baseman) – Rafael Devers (designated hitter) – Elroy Jimenez (right field field) – Wander Franco (shortstop) – Ketel Marte (2nd baseman) – Jay The lineup was drawn in the order of Mer Candelario (first baseman) and Francisco Mejia (catcher). The starting pitcher was Johnny Cueto.
The team that succeeded in overcoming the baseline was Puerto Rico. He scored 4 runs in the top of the 3rd inning and made a big inning. Starting with Vasquez’ solo shot, Musa 1st and 2nd base, Lindor and Hernandez’s consecutive RBIs burst out at the right time. In the following Musa 1st and 3rd base, the runner on 3rd scored a run when Melendez grounded on 2nd, adding 1 more point.
The Dominican Republic tried to close the gap with Soto’s solo shot at the end of the 3rd inning, but soon after, the will to pursue was broken. In the top of the 5th inning, Lindor, who entered the plate with one out, hit a heavy hit, which center fielder Rodriguez spilled back. The relay play process was also not neat. Lindor, who did not miss the gap, made a point with his foot as he came home without stopping at third base.
In the bottom of the 5th inning, Machado hit a double play with no bases, which was fatal for the Dominican Republic, where poor defense poured cold water on them. It was somewhat disappointing to exchange 2 outcounts and 1 point in a situation where it was not enough to drive the opponent with a large amount of points. Eventually, after the bottom of the 6th inning, he remained silent without scoring and had to wait for Puerto Rico to advance to the second round. The Dominican Republic national team this year was evaluated as
having the highest level of strength as a large number of players active in the major leagues joined the national team.
There were players who could not board the entry during the preparation process, such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who could not participate due to injury, but he had a power that is comparable to that of a championship candidate.
In the end, looking back at this tournament, the Dominican Republic got it wrong from the start. The lethargic 1-5 defeat in the first match against Venezuela on the 12th had a big impact on the rankings. Venezuela, who won their first win against the Dominican Republic, continued their upward trend and finished the first round with a four-game winning streak.
Excluding Israel and Nicaragua, which were relatively weak, it is true that three teams from Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic were expected to compete in Group D. It deserves to be called ‘The Group of Death’. Still, not many expected the Dominican Republic to fall so early.
There are many reasons why they had to end their journey in the first round, but it is safe to say that their lower-than-expected attack power led to their elimination in the first round. During the 4 games, the team had a batting average of 0.283 and a team OPS of 0.807, with only 4 home runs. Considering the players in the lineup, it was not a satisfactory figure.
Just look at Puerto Rico. While Machado and Devers, who were in charge of the central batting line, were silent with no hits in 4 at-bats side by side, the entire team picked up only 6 hits that day. None of the players had multi-hits.