World Baseball Classic: Dominican Republic 6, Nicaragua 1
Coming off their tournament-opening loss to Colombia, the bracket favorites got precisely what they had to have. Five Dominican pitchers held Nicaragua to five hits and a single run in Group D play in Miami.
Astros ace Cristian Javier started and held Nicaragua scoreless on two hits through his four innings. Javier struck out four.
Offensively several of the Dominicans’ mega stars who had been silenced in the loss to Venezuela stepped up Monday.
- Juan Soto had two hits, one of them a home run, and scored three times.
- Manny Machado also homered and singled.
- White Sox star Eloy Jimenez had two hits and drove in a run.
- Mariners sensation Julio Rodriguez only had one hit in his five tries, but that hit drove in a run in the fourth inning.
The Dominicans are now 1-1 in Group D. They play Israel, also 1-1, in what could be an elimination game Tuesday, then conclude group play Wednesday against Puerto Rico in what is likely to be a pivotal game for both teams.
Nicaragua, which fell to 0-3, concludes Group play Tuesday against Group-leading Venezuela. A Nicaragua victory over a team that’s already beaten both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic would contend for the upset of the 2023 World Baseball Classic.