Puerto Rico advances over the Dominican Republic in Pool D finale

Miami, Florida – Puerto Rico won the big battle in Little Havana, triumphing over the Dominican Republic 5-2 to advance out of Pool D to the quarterfinals. The highly anticipated elimination game saw the Puerto Ricans jump to an early 4-0 lead initiated by a solo home run from Christian Vazquez, relying on the combined efforts of eight pitchers to keep the Dominicans at bay. D.R’s offense was frustrated throughout the evening, going two-for-eight with runners in scoring position. Both Manny Machado and Rafael Devers went hitless in the crucial contest. Their offense was especially handcuffed in the last three innings failing to record a hit.

Edwin Diaz appears to have suffered an injury during Puerto Rico's celebration pic.twitter.com/G9Md6SBrEj

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 16, 2023

Postgame celebrations were marred by Edwin Diaz’s freak accident. The New York Mets closer suffered a right knee injury during celebrations, specifically, he tore the patellar tendon. Diaz will need surgery and is expected to miss the season, a huge blow for Puerto Rico, the Mets, and baseball fans everywhere.

The Puerto Ricans (3-1) advance as the Pool D runner-ups behind Venezuela (4-0). They will remain in Miami to play Pool C winner Mexico Saturday night.

Win or Go Home

The Great Game

In the aftermath of a very tragic and unfortunate event, folks have been declaring that the WBC should be discontinued or at the very least prohibit MLB stars from participating. Technically, this incident occurred after the game not during. I understand the pain and anger coming from the Mets fans, I get it. Diaz is one of the best closers out there and was a crucial piece to New York’s hopes of making it to the postseason in a bid to win the World Series. However, to call these games meaningless is way too much of a stretch. Players like Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Sandy Alcantara, Marcus Stroman, Nolan Arenado, Mookie Betts, J.T. Realmuto, Francisco Lindor, Javier Báez, Manny Machado and so many, many more would argue how special it is to play for, and represent your country. These are highly competitive games, not some exhibition.

Six Dominican MLB players were asked if the World Baseball Classic or World Series was more important to them

Five chose the World Baseball Classic. One said the same. None of them chose the World Series pic.twitter.com/gXjqX0dPWA

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 16, 2023

To those for and against the tournament, it’s here to stay. The fans love it, the players love it, and it immensely helps grow the game. Let’s not forget the amount of revenue it’s generating. If all else fails, money talks. I sincerely wish Edwin Diaz a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on the mound sooner rather than later.

Impressions

This was THE marquee matchup of Pool D. With the threat of elimination looming over them, the two sides battled it out for the right to stay. The meeting between the two baseball powers had a lot of wild stuff. The stadium was jam-packed with a crowd so loud I couldn’t even hear myself think. You had Fernando Cruz pitching for Puerto Rico while wearing a tattoo with the flag of the Dominican Republic on his left arm. There was even a video of some fan who raised up a chair in celebration when Vazquez went yard. Then we saw Edwin Diaz get hurt in the post-game celebration. Seeing those players distraught was heartbreaking.

IT IS LOUD IN MIAMI!

1-2-3 inning for Johnny Cueto 🔥

📺: WBC on FS1 pic.twitter.com/jMsOmVEX39

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 15, 2023

Unfortunate events aside, it’s that sort of crazy playoff atmosphere Marlins fans are craving. The ambiance within loadDepot park was palpable. To say it was exciting was an understatement. Speaking of.

Johnny Cueto’s brief start shows glimmers of what he is capable of. For the first two innings, he was pretty sharp. Cueto struck out Lindor and Melendez for example, getting ahead of the hitters and achieving quick outs. He was going great until the third inning when Christian Vazquez took him deep to left. Cueto couldn’t get back into his groove resulting in his departure. Switching from a current Marlin to a former one, Yimi Garcia also pitched tossing a frame. Garcia gave up two hits, an unearned run (the Rodriguez error), and struck out Melendez. And so ends pool play, the field of 20 has been reduced to eight. Let the quarterfinals begin!