Nelson Cruz's three-run homer leads Dominican Republic to stunning win over USA in World Baseball Classic
MIAMI – Breaking down Saturday’s Pool C game of the World Baseball Classic between the U.S. and the Dominican Republic.
Dominican Republic 7, Team USA 5:
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The game: Nelson Cruz’s three-run homer off Andrew Miller in the eighth led the Dominicans to a thrilling comeback victory that extended their WBC winning streak to 10, tracing back to their title run in 2013.
The defending champions, who trailed 5-0 entering the bottom of the sixth, secured a spot in the second round with the stunning turnaround.
Miller hit Jose Bautista with a pitch to open the eighth and gave up an infield single to Carlos Santana before Cruz launched a missile just inside the left-field foul pole to send a largely pro-Dominican crowd of 37,446 into delirium, as the DR went ahead 6-5. Two batters later, Starling Marte took Miller deep as well, adding an insurance run with a homer to right.
The U.S. led most of the way, but the DR kept chipping away and finally took the lead with the four-run uprising in the eighth.
Brandon Crawford drove in two runs with two-out hits and Marcus Stroman silenced the potent Dominican lineup – and their fans – for nearly five innings as the Americans took command through the first half of the game.
Trailing 5-0, the DR finally came alive with two runs in the sixth off Tanner Roark, the first scoring on Manny Machado’s titanic homer to left. An RBI double by Welington Castillo in the seventh, also off Roark, made it 5-3.
Sloppy fielding by the Dominicans opened the door for the game’s first two runs, both unearned. After Ian Kinsler beat out a two-out single off Edinson Volquez in the third, Adam Jones followed with a catchable liner to the gap. Just as center fielder Marte appeared ready to make the grab, right fielder Cruz cut in front of him and the ball bounced off his glove, allowing Kinsler to score from first on what was ruled a Marte error. Christian Yelich followed with a flare single to left that increased the U.S. lead to 2-0.
Crawford’s RBI double off lefty Fernando Abad capped a two-run sixth that extended the Americans’ lead to 5-0.
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State of Pool C: Now 1-1, the USA is tied with Colombia for second place in Pool C, behind the Dominican Republic (2-0) but ahead of Canada (0-2).
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Man of the moment: Cruz. The power-hitting right fielder more than atoned for his fielding gaffe, capping the Dominican comeback by crushing a Miller pitch for a memorable home run. Cruz pounded his chest, punched the air and showed off the word "Dominicana" on his jersey as he rounded the bases, and he was mobbed at home by delirious teammates.
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Pivot point: Early on it looked like the misplayed fly ball in the third inning would be critical to the outcome. Marte, a two-time Gold Glover as a left fielder, was gliding toward the ball and in pursuit of the third out when Cruz – who probably should have been charged with the error – deflected it.
Jones wound up at third and came in on Yelich’s single to make it 2-0 while the largest ever to watch a baseball game at Marlins Park was still digesting was had just happened.
Then in the eighth, Cruz made all that a moot point.
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Needing a mulligan: Jumbo Diaz. The bullpen is regarded as the strong suit of the Dominicans’ pitching staff, but there are some soft spots in the middle, and the U.S. hitters took advantage of them. Diaz was particularly vulnerable, giving up two sixth-inning runs that extended the U.S. lead to 5-0.
Diaz, recently picked up by the Tampa Bay Rays after the Cincinnati Reds waived him, took over in the sixth and issued a walk to Paul Goldschmidt, who came around to score on Giancarlo Stanton’s ringing double to left.
The other run charged to Diaz scored when Crawford doubled off Abad, who was brought in to face him. It wasn’t entirely Diaz’s fault, but he and his ERA took the blame.
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Managers special: Holding on to a 5-3 lead in the eighth, U.S. skipper Jim Leyland brought in the left-handed Miller to face the predominantly right-handed Dominican lineup. It was hardly a questionable move, since Miller is equally nasty to all and actually held righties to a lower OPS (.474 vs. .523) than lefties last season. It certainly didn’t work the way Leyland or anybody else would have expected, though.
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What you missed on TV: A band of drummers making its way through the Marlins Park main concourse an hour before the game, getting fans revved up and inspiring hundreds of smartphone users to stop for photos.
Gallery: Best pictures from WBC
