MIAMI – The Netherlands national baseball team suffered a heavy defeat against the Dominican Republic national baseball team at the World Baseball Classic, losing 12–1 in a game that ended after seven innings due to the mercy rule.
With the loss — their second in three games — the Kingdom team’s chances of reaching the quarterfinals appear slim. In Pool D, which is being played in Miami, only the top two teams advance to the knockout stage.
Dominican Firepower
The Dominican Republic showed early why it is considered one of the favorites for the tournament. The lineup featured several Major League Baseball stars, including Fernando Tatis Jr., Ketel Marte, Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Manny Machado.
Starting pitcher Arij Fransen struggled from the outset. The Dominican Republic took a 2–0 lead in the first inning after an RBI single by Guerrero and a fielding error that allowed another run to score.
Gregorius Homerun
The Kingdom team briefly responded in the second inning when Curaçao-born infielder Didi Gregorius hit a solo home run to reduce the deficit to 2–1.
However, the Dominican offense quickly regained control of the game. Home runs from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Junior Caminero and Austin Wells helped extend the lead, while a six-run fifth inning pushed the score to 10–1.
Mercy Rule Ends Game
In the seventh inning, superstar Juan Soto hit a two-run homer that created an 11-run difference. Under World Baseball Classic rules, a game can be ended early if a team leads by 10 or more runs after seven innings, triggering the mercy rule.
The Dominican Republic finished the game with four home runs and remained unbeaten in Pool D, while the Netherlands dropped to a 1–2 record.
The Kingdom team still has one group game remaining against Israel. Although the match will be played, the results so far make it unlikely that the team coached by Andruw Jones will advance beyond the group stage.