Above: the Dominican Republic
By the Caribbean Journal staff
The third meeting between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in this year’s World Baseball Classic proved to be rather similar to the first two.
Led by first baseman Edwin Encarnacion, the Dominican Republic beat Puerto Rico 3 to 0 to win the World Baseball Classic for the first time and sweep three games against the US territory in the tournament.
It marked the first time two Caribbean countries had advanced to the finals of the tournament, which first began in 2006.
The win also gave the Dominican Republic an undefeated record in eight games in the World Baseball Classic. The loss was Puerto Rico’s fourth in nine Classic games.
Erick Aybar, the Dominican Republic’s designated hitter, added two hits and a run batted in for the Dominican Republic, while the Dominican Republic’s Samuel Deduno got the win with five scoreless innings in which he gave up just two hits.
The game was briefly delayed by rain in the fifth inning, but little changed when play resumed.
After Giancarlo Alvarado struggled in the first inning for Puerto Rico, he was replaced by Hiram Burgos, who gave up just one run in X innings, but it wasn’t enough.
Fernando Rodney pitched a scoreless ninth for the save.