2013 WBC: Day 17 Recap

The 2013 World Baseball Classic has seen its share of upsets, drama, and great baseball action. For a good portion of the second semifinal it looked like we would be seeing another twist, until the Dominican Republic rallied in the fifth to stay undefeated and move on to a third meeting with their Caribbean rivals in the finals.

Day 17:

Dominican Republic 4, Netherlands 1

The second semifinal of the championship round featured two WBC foes who are more than familiar with one another. The Dominican Republic entered as heavy favorites, despite being 0-2 all-time verse the Kingdom of the Netherlands in World Baseball Classic history. The Dominicans turned to right-hander Edinson Volquez to face the Dutch's ace Diegomar Markwell. Both starters showed their dominance for four innings but the difference that decided the game is that Volquez dominated after a rough first inning, while Markwell fell of the table in the bottom of the fifth after keeping the Dominicans in check for his first four innings. Volquez was once again wild in the first, walking Andrelton Simmons and Jurickson Profar to start the game. The next two batters would ground out, but Simmons would score on Wladimir Balentin's ground out to give the Dutch an early 1-0 lead. Diegomar Markwell was in complete control for the first four innings, only facing two batters over the minimum and protecting the early lead that his offense spotted him. Other than the first inning Edinson Volquez was nearly unhittable, only allowing a pair of two-out singles.

The Dominican bats were finally able to figure out Markwell and take complete control  of the night. Carlos Santana started the party when he crushed a double to left with one out. Moises Sierra was the next man to bat and tied the game when he smacked a double down the left field line scoring Santana. Sierra would advance to third on a ground out. Just when it looked as if Markwell might be able to escape any more damage, Jose Reyes poked a ball to center, good for a RBI single which gave the Dominicans their first lead. Miguel Tejada followed with a single to center that put runners on the corners and ended the night for Markwell. Jose Reyes scored on a wild pitch and Edwin Encarnacion ended the four-run inning with a RBI single that scored Tejada. A three run lead was more than enough for the Dominican bullpen. Kelvin Herrera allowed a hit and a walk to go with three strike outs in his two innings. Pedro Strop would force three ground outs in the eighth and Fernando Rodney pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning, striking out the last men he faced to earn his sixth save of the tournament and to send the Dominican Republic to the championship game. The Netherlands was only able to muster four hits, all of them coming with two outs. Jose Reyes had the go-ahead RBI and along with Miguel Tejada had two hits and a Run to lead the Dominicans.

Edinson Volquez got the win, allowing two hits, two walks, and one run while striking out five in his five innings of work. His bullpen did their job, just surrendering two hits and a walk to go with five strike outs in the last four innings. The Dominican Republic advances to the championship game to face Puerto Rico on Tuesday night, while the loss means that the Netherlands are eliminated.    




*2013 World Baseball Classic championship game: Puerto Rico vs. Dominican Republic, Tuesday night 8 p.m. EST*