MIAMI – Israel defeated the Netherlands 6-2 in the finale for both teams at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, achieving a .500 record for the Jewish homeland for the first time at the WBC.
The Netherlands jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, with Druw Jones drawing a leadoff walk and then scoring from second when Xander Bogaerts hit into a fielder’s choice at second. A sac fly by former New York Yankee Didi Gregorius later in the first scored Cedanne Rafaela to make it 2-0 for the Dutch.
Israel got on the board in the top of the second when Noah Mendlinger, Israel’s leading hitter in the WBC, drew a two-out walk, and Jake Gelof followed with a double that cut the lead to 2-1.
In the sixth, Israel broke the game open, sending nine men to the plate and scoring five runs, starting with a single by Spencer Horwitz off reliever Kevin kelly. Horwitz scored on a single by R.J. Schreck, and later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Jake Gelof’s single to left scored Schreck and Cole Carrigg to make it 4-2. Gelof’s hit sent Kelly to the dugout in favor of Lars Huijer, but Matt Mervis doubled on Huijer’s third pitch to score Noah Mendlinger and Gelof to make it 6-2.
With the win, Israel finishes the 2026 World Baseball Classic with a 2-2 record, having beaten Nicaragua 5-0 earlier in the tournament.
The Netherlands, which found themselves without Jonathan Schoop, who was arrested on gun charges in Curacao weeks before the tournament, and Jurickson Profar, who was suspended from Major League Baseball for the entire 2026 season after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, finished 1-3 after scoring just nine runs in four games.
Photo: Israel first baseman Matt Mervis, right, is congratulated by third base coach Mark Loretta, left, after hitting a RBI double to score two runs during the sixth inning of a World Baseball Classic game against the Netherlands, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
