World Baseball Classic Day 9: Mike Trout carries Team USA
By Bill Felber
World Baseball Classic: Puerto Rico 5, Dominican Republic 2
With Venezuela having already wrapped up the Pool D championship, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic met Wednesday night in Miami in an elimination game.
A Christian Vazquez home run ignited a four-run Puerto Rico third inning that ended up deciding the game. Vazquez put a grooved 2-0 Johnny Cueto fastball into the Dominican bullpen.
The Puerto Ricans weren’t through. Vimael Machin followed with a base hit, then Martin Maldonado dropped down a bunt between first and second and beat it out for a single.
When lead-footed catcher Martin Maldonado beats out a bunt single, you know it’s your night … and it was. Bryan Abreu replaced Cueto and Francisco Lindor greeted him with an RBI single, Enrique Hernandez singled Maldonado home, and Lindor scored the fourth run on a groundout.
The star-studded Dominican lineup made a couple of furtive attempts at rallies. Juan Soto homered deep onto the batters eye in center to lead off the bottom of the third, but the Dominican batters went down quietly after that.
In the fifth, after Puerto Rico had expanded its lead to 5-1, they loaded the bases on a hit and two walks, and then scored a run on a Manny Machado double play. Eloy Jimenez doubled to open the sixth, but nothing came of it.
The last 10 Dominican hitters were retired in succession, six of them on strikes. Edwin Diaz fanned Ketel Marte, Jean Segura and Teoscar Hernandez in succession in the bottom of the ninth.
The victory advances Puerto Rico to a second round meeting with Group C champion Mexico. That game will be played Saturday night in Miami, but Puerto Rico could well be without Diaz, who hurt himself in the postgame celebration and his status is unknown.