The Dominican Republic won the 2013 World Baseball Classic with a 3-0 shutout victory over Puerto Rico on Tuesday night.
Despite the heavy rain in San Francisco, the spirits of the Dominican team were not the least bit dampened as they jumped up and down in the dugout throughout the game led by closer Fernando Rodney and his rally plantain. The D.R. had the game won from the first inning on a two run double by Edwin Encarnacion. They added another run in the fifth on an Erick Aybar double. Dominican pitching limited Puerto Rico to three hits. Their bullpen pitched 19 scoreless innings during the WBC.
They’ve come a long way from the 2009 WBC when they were twice defeated and eliminated by The Netherlands. Prior to the start of this year’s WBC, manager Tony Pena asked each of their players why they were playing in the tournament and it set the tone for their triumph.
The Dominicans were undefeated in the WBC with an 8-0 record; three of those wins came against Puerto Rico. They truly had an All-Star team with the likes of Jose Reyes, Robinson Cano, Hanley Ramirez, Nelson Cruz and Fernando Rodney. Is it any wonder that one out of every seven MLB players is from the Dominican Republic?
Baseball has been very, very good to the Dominican Republic. Needless to say, the baseball crazy island will be celebrating well into the night. Congratulations!!!
