MIAMI – It wasn’t quite a miracle along the lines of the oil for the menorah lasting eight nights, but Israel managed to play nine full innings against the Dominican Republic, and though they didn’t win the game, it was an accomplishment nonetheless.
Israel managed to escape the WBC’s early termination rule, by which games end when a team leads by 15 runs at any point or by 10 runs after seven innings, an ignominious fate they suffered in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, falling 10-0 in seven innings to Puerto Rico without getting a single runner on base.
The ballpark was packed with Dominican fans, who chanted, pounded drums, and scraped guiras throughout the game.
“I actually think the players really enjoy it. They got a little bit of a taste of it against Venezuela,” Israel manager Brad Ausmus said before the game. “We have a few guys that played in 2023 against the Dominican. We know how loud it can get. But it actually makes it fun. The environment, there’s a lot of energy. There’s a lot of excitement. There’s music and dancing. It’s a great atmosphere to play baseball in.”
It’s hard to compete with a super team, especially with a hometown and even though they sat starters Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Julio Rodriguez, and Austin Wells, the Dominican Republic demolished Israel 10-1 in Pool D play at the World Baseball Classic, getting a second-inning grand slam from Fernando Tatis Jr. as their first hit of the game and five innings of one-hit ball from starter Brayan Bello.
Israel starter Ryan Prague lasted just 1 ⅓ innings, issuing four walks in the second, including a bases-loaded pass to Geraldo Perdomo that sent Manny Machado home to give the D.R. a 1-0 lead before Tatis sent Prager’s 1-2 changeup over the left field wall, ending his outing early.
Relieving Prager was righty Zack Weiss, who got Ketel Marte to fly out to end the second and retired the side in the third before allowing a solo homer by O’Neil Cruz, his second of the tournament, to make it 6-0.
With starter Brayan Bello of the Boston Red Sox on the mound, the D.R. cruised; the righty was perfect through three innings and allowed just one hit, a solo homer by Spencer Horowitz to lead off the bottom of the fourth, before retiring the next six batters in order. Israel only had two more base runners in the game, one when Noah Mendlinger led off the seventh with a double and R.J. Schreck drawing a one-out walk two batters later.
Oneil Cruz hit a solo homer in the fourth, his seconding homer of the tournament, and Tatis Jr. hit a two-run double in the seventh that made it 8-1. They added another in the eighth on a bases-loaded ground out by Agustin Ramirez.
In the ninth, Manny Machado drew a two-out walk and then scored on a pinch-hit triple by Erik Gonzalez, bringing the Dominican with one run of ending the game early. With Gonzalez on third, Carlos Santana hit a grounder to third, and the throw from third baseman Jake Gelof got to first base just ahead of Santana, ending the inning and assuring the game would be played in its’ entirety, a small victory in an otherwise-lopsided loss for Israel.
But don’t think fans in Israel weren’t paying attention to this team. They relished last night’s win against Nicaragua.
“The excitement was palpable after the game. I received texts from people in Israel after the game, so they were up late watching it,” Ausmus said. “With every WBC round or tournament, more and more people in Israel actually are watching it, and the hope is eventually it’s Israeli-born players playing in it. That’s the goal. That’s probably a little bit down the road. But the excitement is real in the clubhouse after the game. But long-term I’d like to see the excitement continue and grow in Israel.”
NOTEBOOK – Tatis Jr. finished the game 2-for-4 with six RBIs. … The Dominican Republic now has nine homers in the tournament and six in the last two games. They’re two dingers short of the team record of 11, set by Cuba in the 2009 WBC, a record that looks likely to fall.
Photo: Oneil Cruz celebrates after hitting a home run against Israel during the fourth inning of a World Baseball Classic game, Monday, March 9, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
