Kevin Barral

In his first World Baseball Classic, San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. hit his first homer of the classic, which would be the first of a 10-run afternoon for the Dominican Republic in their win over Israel to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals round, in which seeding for that will be decided on Wednesday against Venezuela. In the top of the second inning, with the bases loaded, Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo worked a walk, allowing Padres teammate Manny Machado to score and give the Dominican Republic a 1-0 lead. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat with a 1-2 count, Tatis took Israel starter Ryan Prager 400 feet deep to left field, making it a 5-0 game. Fernando Tatis Jr. recorded six RBIs, tying Adrian Gonzalez (3/9/09) for the second-most in a single World Baseball Classic game, trailing only Ken Griffey Jr., who drove in seven runs on 3/10/06. Following Oneil Cruz's home run, his second of the tournament, the Dominican Republic has hit nine home runs through three games, scoring a total of 34 runs. Tatis has slashed .500/.692/.875/.1.567 in those three games, with one home run and six RBI. His Padres teammate Manny Machado, who is the captain of the team, is slashing .429/.714/.571/.1.285. "It's one of the best lineups in the world," is what Israel manager Brad Ausmus said following the game. "That lineup presents a lot of challenges, and even when they are resting some of their guys, the guys that aren't resting are pretty darn good, so it's going to be a challenge for every other team." The Dominican Republic will get an off-day on Tuesday before taking the field for the most hyped up game of the World Baseball Classic, which will be the clash between Venezuela and the Dominican Republic on Wednesday at 8:00 pm. Sandy Alcantara will take the mound for the DR, but no starter has been announced for Venezuela. Kevin Barral is on-site in Miami covering the World Baseball Classic for DiamondCentric. View full article

On Sunday, the Dominican Republic held its first team practice at loanDepot park ahead of the World Baseball Classic, set to begin on Wednesday, March 4, when Chinese Taipei and Australia face off in the Tokyo Dome. The biggest story for this team, led by manager Albert Pujols, is San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado, who was named captain for the Dominican Republic. This will mark Machado’s third WBC, participating with the DR in 2017 and 2023, two years in which they were not able to win it all. He is coming off a season with the Padres in which he slashed .275/.335/.460/.795 with 27 home runs, 95 RBI, and a 123 wRC+. In the last World Baseball Classic, Machado played in four games, going 4-17 with two home runs and four RBI. The Dominican Republic could not make it past the pool play round, going down as one of the biggest upsets in the tournament. “I don’t even think about that,” Machado told reporters. “That’s all in the past. We are thinking about the team that we have right now and just play our game.” Machado mentioned multiple times how much of an honor it will be to represent the Dominican Republic for a third time in the tournament, but noted that “the most important thing is to win.” “That is what we in the clubhouse want,” Machado said. “At the end of the day, that is the most important thing.” The Dominican Republic will play two exhibition games in Santo Domingo, with Luis Severino starting game one and Brayan Bello starting the second game. Both games will be against the Detroit Tigers. “That’s going to be something special,” Machado said. “I don’t even have words to explain what that moment will be like. I think a lot of people are going to be happy about it. To play in front of fans who always support us, who may not have the chance to watch us here in the United States and play in front of them, it’s something special.” Pool D play will begin on Friday, March 6, with the Dominican Republic playing in the night game at 7:00 pm against Nicaragua. For the DR, it’ll be Christopher Sanchez taking the mound, and for Nicaragua, Erasmo Ramirez will start. Kevin Barral is on-site in Miami covering the World Baseball Classic for DiamondCentric. View full article