MIAMI – The flight from Asia to Miami isn’t a short one.
The average flight from Tokyo, where South Korea’s World Baseball Classic entry played their pool play games, to Miami is anywhere from 13-15 hours, and Korea will get to make the flight again just days after coming to Miami, having been eliminated by the merciless bats of the Dominican Republic in a 10-0, seven-inning drubbing in the quarterfinals. The win gave the D.R. a 5-0 record, and they’ve scored 51 runs, the most in the tournament, 11 ahead of the United States, which has 40 and will be their opponent in the semifinal on Sunday at 8 p.m.
“Our job is to win every single game no matter the team we face, and to prepare the guys,” Dominican manager Albert Pujols said following the game. “My message to my team, to my staff is that we have a mission that is to win a championship, and this is our goal. Our concern is not what the other teams are doing. In the days off, we prepare ourselves. We train for the next game.”
Overmatched, Korea changed pitchers to try to knock the Dominican batters off balance, using nine pitchers over 6 1/3 innings, with the staff allowing 10 runs on nine hits and six hits.
Facing Korea starter Hyun Jin Ryu, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. led off the bottom of the second against his former teammate with a walk, and then a double by Junior Caminero scored Guerrero for a 1-0 Dominican lead, with Guerrero making a brilliant slide to get around the tag of Korea catcher Dong Won Park. Agustin Ramirez drew a walk batting in the eighth hole, then advanced the second on a single by Gerardo Perdomo. He and Caminero scored on a single by Fernando Tatís Jr. to give the Dominicans a 3-0 lead and chase Ryu from the game after just 1 ⅓ innings.
An inning later, the Dominicans sent 10 batters to the plate, shredding the Korea bullpen for four runs on four hits. Soto led off with a double and scored on a single by Machado, as once again, Korea catcher Park couldn’t defend against a twisting slide, as Soto got a hand on the plate before he could apply the tag despite the throw beating the runner to the plate.
Despite trailing 7-0, Korea managed to quiet the Dominican bats, retiring the side in order for the next three innings. But ultimately, the buzzsaw that is the Dominican lineup couldn’t be stopped for long. In the seventh, Manny Machado reached on a one-out single, and Julio Rodriguez beat out a double-play relay throw to reach on a fielder’s choice and give the D.R. runners at the corners with two outs.