The Netherlands just pulled off a major upset, the second of the tournament, when it came from behind in the 11th inning against the Dominican Republic to grad a 2-1 win in Pool D of the World Baseball Classic. This is the second time that the Dutch have beaten the Dominican Republic in the Classic tournament.
“Our guys came together as a team, and, miraculously, we won,” said Dutch manager Rod Delmonico after the victory.
It was the bottom of the 11th when Willy Aybar had to react to a sharply hit ground shot but his fielding error meant that the Dutch would go through with the winning run. Eugene Kingsale raced home from third base, which he had reached when Carlos Marmol had thrown away an attempted pickoff when Kingsale was at first. Kingsale’s single had helped Sidney de Jong score the game tying run.
“It was not because we are a better team than they are,” Delmonico explained, referring to the Dominicans. “They are one of the best teams in the world. Collectively, we just played hard and it happened.”
Ironically, it was Kingsale who’s fielding error had allowed Jose Reyes to score the single for the Dominicans. Jose Bautista had driven the ball towards Kingsale who misjudged the flight. He dove in to catch the ball but it slid past him to the warning track.
“Our guys were upset that they scored,” said Delmonico. “The mood in the dugout was, ‘Hey, it’s our turn.’ When they came in, everybody was up. We were ready to go to bat. It was not a mood [of] feeling sorry for themselves.”
The game had not been easy for the Dutch. The Dominicans started strongly with starter Ubaldo Jimenez who almost dictated terms in the first four innings. Ubaldo struck out 10 of the 13 batters in those 4 innings, creating a new strikeout record in the World Baseball Classic. Although there were two hits of Jimenez, they ended up being harmless.
The Netherlands held their own when it came to pitching out there. Alexander Smit, Dennis Neuman, Diogomar Markwell, Leon Boyd and Rob Cordemas held firm to restrict a strong MLB batting lineup. The bullpen gave away just two hits and 5 walks with no ERA. Starter Tom Stuifbergen allowed just five hits in his 4 scoreless innings.
The Dutch coach was almost in tears during the press conference after the game.
“I am a blessed man to have had the opportunity to manage them,” he said of his Netherlands players.
