World Baseball Classic results

GO TEAM USA

VENEZUELA 3, NETHERLANDS 1
Miguel Cabrera homers for his country

BY ANTONIO GONZALEZ • ASSOCIATED PRESS • March 14, 2009

MIAMI — Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera and Jose Lopez each had solo home runs to power Venezuela to a 3-1 win over the Netherlands in the second round of the World Baseball Classic today.

In his first game back at Dolphin Stadium, Cabrera reached back to his Florida Marlins’ days with a line drive over the left-center field wall in the fourth that gave Venezuela the lead for good. Cabrera took his familiar slow walk down the first-base line, watching his ball sail over the scoreboard and sending fans of the red, yellow and blue into a flag-waving frenzy.

Carlos Silva allowed one run and four hits in seven innings, and Lopez’s homer in the eighth gave Venezuela all the cushion it needed.

Tigers rightfielder Magglio Ordoñez played leftfield and Carlos Guillen was the designated hitter. Both were 0-for-3.

Venezuela will play the winner of Saturday night’s game between the United States and Puerto Rico on Monday for a chance to clinch a spot in the finals in Los Angeles. The Netherlands will play the loser in an elimination game Sunday.

The Netherlands were fueled again by strong pitching and defense and forced its opponent to make plays. It was that formula that helped the Netherlands advance to the second round of the WBC by ousting the star-studded Dominican Republic with a pair of stunning upsets, including a 3-2, 11-inning elimination game win.

But the Dutch wasted plenty of opportunities against Venezuela.

After putting runners on first and second with one out in the eighth, the Netherlands went cold. Eugene Kingsdale popped out, and closer Francisco Rodriguez came in to get Adriana Sharnol to ground out to end the inning — and any hopes of another Netherlands upset.

Yurendell DeCaster tried to score from first on a double by Bryan Engelhardt in the second inning but misread the ball, getting off to a slow start, and was thrown out at home by Cesar Izturis. Vince Rooi singled on the next pitch to tie it at 1.

The Dutch also wasted a strong pitching effort by Sidney Ponson, who only allowed two runs and two hits in five innings against a potent Venezuelan team.

And it was the power — or lack thereof — that was the difference. Venezuela only had three hits — two homers and a triple — and the Netherlands’ only extra-base hit was a double.

Cabrera’s second homer of the tournament got the lead back for Venezuela in the fourth. He played five seasons for the Florida Marlins, helping them win the 2003 World Series over the New York Yankees, before being traded to Detroit ahead of the 2007 season.

Cabrera and Venezuela had a slew of supporters in this one.

The stadium’s orange seats looked perfectly made for Dutch fans, though the few hundred in attendance were easily drowned out. The gate attendance of 17,345 were mostly flag-waving, drum-beating, horn-blaring Venezuelans who provided energy rarely seen at afternoon baseball games at Dolphin Stadium, also home to the Marlins.

And they got started early when Endy Chavez led off the game with a triple into right-center field. He scored a batter later on Melvin Mora’s groundout.

Notes: There were dozens of Dominican Republic fans in attendance sporting their country’s flag. The Dominicans, which have a large South Florida following, were expected to contend in Miami but were eliminated by the Netherlands in the first round in Puerto Rico. ...

The public address system was announced in English then Spanish.

ah, those drum-beating Venezuelans!

Saturday, March 14, 2009 8:18:00 PM
Team USA adds Orioles' Roberts
Second baseman takes place of injured Pedroia

By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com

MIAMI -- Brian Roberts is joining Team USA.

Roberts, the Orioles' veteran second baseman, is replacing Dustin Pedroia on the United States squad.

The move was made before Team USA faced Puerto Rico on Saturday night at Dolphin Stadium in Round 2 of the World Baseball Classic.

Pedroia has a left oblique strain. The Red Sox All-Star returned to Fort Myers, Fla., on Saturday night to be examined by team doctors.

Pedroia is now officially out of the Classic. He can't return if Team USA advances to the semifinals.

The Orioles have Spring Training in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., so Roberts has a short distance to travel to be with Team USA.

Through eight Grapefruit League games, Roberts was 5-for-23 (.217) for the Orioles.

Roberts was in the lineup for Baltimore on Saturday against Boston at Fort Lauderdale Stadium.

Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Saturday, March 14, 2009 10:29:00 PM
Puerto Rico cruises past United States
Vazquez limits Americans to one run in mercy-rule victory

By Matthew Leach / MLB.com

United States-Puerto Rico box score>

MIAMI -- A multi-pronged offensive attack and an outstanding starting pitching performance propelled Puerto Rico to an 11-1 win over the United States on Saturday in the opening game of the second round of the World Baseball Classic for both teams. The game was called in the bottom of the seventh inning due to the mercy rule.

Every Puerto Rican starter had either an RBI or a run scored, which hung six runs on USA starter Jake Peavy in two innings. Carlos Beltran led the assault with three hits including a home run, a walk, three runs scored and two RBIs, but he had lots of help. Felipe Lopez cranked a two-run homer and an RBI double, Carlos Delgado drove in two runs and Ramon Vazquez scored twice.

And then there was starting pitcher Javier Vazquez, who stifled a potent United States lineup. Vazquez lasted five innings, holding the USA to a run on four hits, striking out two without walking a batter. He was all but untouched through the first four innings before escaping a two-on, one-out jam in the fifth.

Three of the first four batters of the game singled for Puerto Rico, with Delgado's RBI knock and Alex Rios' sacrifice fly making it 2-0 in the first. An inning later, Geovany Soto drew a leadoff walk and Lopez homered for a 4-0 lead, Beltran beat out an infield single for the fifth run and Delgado's grounder to short made it 6-0.

The USA only made it interesting once, when it put runners on second and third with one out and one in against Vazquez in the fifth. But Vazquez struck out Mark DeRosa and got Shane Victorino to fly out, ending the chance.

Puerto Rico will face Venezuela on Monday night in the winners' bracket of Pool 2 of the Classic. The winner of that game will be guaranteed a spot in the semifinals next weekend at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Matthew Leach is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

It sure started out badly. I had to go to work, so didn't see the rest of the carnage. They should've pulled Peavy after the 2nd inning!

laprimamirala wrote:

It sure started out badly. I had to go to work, so didn't see the rest of the carnage. They should've pulled Peavy after the 2nd inning!

After the 2nd inning... how about the 1st!

That too crossed my mind!

Should've had Miner in there! Or Bobby!

Saturday, March 14, 2009 10:33:00 PM
Team USA upended by Puerto Rico
Mercy-rule loss puts Americans in elimination game on Sunday

By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com

MIAMI -- A star-studded Team USA squad suddenly finds itself on the brink of elimination.

Jake Peavy labored in two innings, giving up six runs, and Team USA never recovered in an 11-1 loss to Puerto Rico on Saturday night at Dolphin Stadium.

Puerto Rico raced to a six-run lead after two innings in second-round action of the World Baseball Classic. The game ended in the seventh inning by the 10-run mercy rule after Mike Aviles dropped in a two-run single.

Team USA faces The Netherlands on Sunday night in an elimination game.

Puerto Rico, meanwhile, will face Venezuela on Monday night.

Javier Vazquez of Puerto Rico kept in check a potent Team USA lineup. The right-hander faced a batting order in which the nine players combined for 230 homers in 2008. Yet, Vazquez allowed one run on four hits in five innings before he exited with a six-run lead.

Peavy struggled from the beginning, allowing six runs on six hits, while rolling up 52 pitches. The right-hander was on a pitch maximum of 85.

Puerto Rico, the home team, built a six-run lead before Team USA had a baserunner. A four-run second inning placed the United States in a difficult spot.

Carlos Beltran had a big game for Puerto Rico, going 3-for-3 with a home run, walk, two RBIs and three runs scored. Felipe Lopez had a two-run homer and three RBIs. And Carlos Delgado drove in two runs for Puerto Rico. Ivan Rodriguez added two doubles and an RBI.

Brian McCann and Adam Dunn of Team USA each had two hits. McCann drove in a run in the fifth inning with a double.

Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Thank goodness it's double elimination!

Team USA makes a mockery of WBC mission
By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports


MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The World Baseball Classic is a farce. There’s no other way to put it. As much great baseball as it showcases, and as much as it means to other countries, until the United States starts treating the games as something more than exhibitions, the American public will continue to ignore it, and rightfully so.

This has little to do with the outcome of Team USA’s game Saturday night against Puerto Rico, an 11-1 mercy killing. The WBC invoked its 10-run slaughter rule in the seventh inning. However embarrassing, it happens. Puerto Rico played well. The U.S. didn’t.

What’s inconceivable and inexplicable and downright insulting to anyone who wants the WBC to succeed was Team USA manager Davey Johnson’s explanation of why he continued to let his starting pitcher, Jake Peavy, rot away any chance for a win with pitch after ugly pitch that the Puerto Ricans sprayed to every corner of Dolphin Stadium.

“Just basically let him get a little more work,” Johnson said.

Really.

OK, just to go over this one time: The WBC bills itself as a tournament to determine the world’s best team and spread the game’s allure (and, yeah, maybe fatten Major League Baseball’s wallet). It expects fans to take such notions seriously. They do, even though a double-pronged reticence within MLB – players and management alike – prevents many of the best players in the world from participating. Still, the games in the first round win support for their intensity and quality, especially this early in spring. And how does the manager for the most visible team, the one with the most major league stars, repay such commitment from those who bought tickets and watched on TV and sponsored the event figuring it more than a glorified spring training game?


He makes sure Jake Peavy hits a pitch count.

Fifty-two, by the way.

That it followed manifold other mistakes makes Johnson resemble his predecessor, Buck Martinez, who fumbled and bumbled as the United States bombed out of the first WBC.

By the time Johnson summoned Joel Hanrahan to warm up in the bullpen, Puerto Rico led, 4-0, and had runners on second and third base. After the Puerto Ricans crossed their fifth run, Johnson still played with the infield back and allowed a 6-0 deficit, which showed an ignorance as to how the tournament’s emphasis on deep bullpens neuters the chances of big comebacks or revealed Johnson’s true feelings about Puerto Rico starter Javier Vazquez’s big-game prowess.

Actually, Vazquez pitched well. Of course, Team USA’s slipshod coaching helped his cause. With Adam Dunn on second base and Puerto Rico ahead, 7-1, Ryan Braun singled up the middle. Carlos Beltran kicked the ball in center field. A tortoise could have scored – except that the third-base coach was Mike Schmidt.

He stopped Dunn as Beltran approached the ball, then yanked his arms toward home when he realized his mistake. Fans along the third-base dugout – among the few of the 30,595 in attendance with a rooting interest in the U.S. – razzed Schmidt about the decision. He defended himself. Schmidt held up seven fingers, then one, to remind them of the score. And then he touched to his right biceps, to indicate that Beltran has one of the most accurate throwing arms in the game.

And finally Schmidt pointed to himself, then the ground, held up a zero sign, and, man, would he ever be good at charades, because it looked like he said he had no business being here.

Maybe he didn’t do that last part.

Look, Schmidt is a Hall of Famer, probably the best third baseman ever. That does not qualify him to coach third base for Team USA, or at least a team that wants to put itself in the best position to win.

Someone from Team USA – Johnson, Schmidt, another coach, whoever – should have reminded the players that another run in the seventh inning meant a mercy loss. Felipe Lopez doubled to make it 10-1, and with Mike Aviles up, the United States did nothing. The outfield didn’t move in, and Johnson didn’t order an intentional walk for a force play, and it may have been moot, but no one on the bench bothered to act like it mattered.

Aviles flared a single to right field. Dunn ran to retrieve the ball. Second baseman Mark DeRosa ran toward him to cut off the throw. Neither realized the game had ended, nor did catcher Brian McCann.

“It didn’t register in my mind that it was even a possibility until I turned around and saw their entire team at first base,” DeRosa said.

There, Puerto Rico celebrated. Not only had it sent Team USA into a do-or-die game Sunday against the Netherlands, it emasculated the tournament favorite, which previously dropped the final game of its pool to Venezuela.

“We lost,” Derek Jeter said. “You’ve got to get over the embarrassment.”

Not just to Team USA. To all of the WBC.

Its second pool kicks off play Sunday in San Diego with a rematch of the 2006 final, Cuba and Japan. If Cuba’s starting pitcher struggles, manager Higinio Velez will have no qualms about yanking him in the first inning. He did so in the first championship game, pulling Ormari Romero after 23 pitches and one out.

That’s the urgency this tournament demands: caring more about the team’s well-being than the individual’s. Let Peavy throw his pitches in the bullpen. The WBC deserves better than Johnson’s cockamamie excuse.

Because with a tweak here and there, and the commitment of everyone involved to building a sustainable event, the WBC will succeed. Fans will recognize it and appreciate it and flock to it. A farce of the past, a force for the future

sounds like a sore loser to me!

Yeah he does, but I agree with him about something. Team USA is playing like it's no big deal. Maybe it's just because this is our spring training and players aren't up to par yet. I don't know, whatever the reason, Team USA isn't playing with any intensity whatsoever and it's no wonder most American's could give a crap less about it. Last night's defeat was totally embarassing. They should be ashamed of themselves.

I guess it means different things to different teams. I say bring it back to the Olympics and we wouldn't have this mess!

I agree 100%

SoulRat wrote:

I agree 100%

Me too!

I also am worried about Granderson. They are not playing him, thus he is not getting any time at the plate. Same goes for Gala. He has pitched once in all this time. I agree with Leyland, None of our WBC guys are going to be ready for the season!

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

SoulRat wrote:

I agree 100%

Me too!

I also am worried about Granderson. They are not playing him, thus he is not getting any time at the plate. Same goes for Gala. He has pitched once in all this time. I agree with Leyland, None of our WBC guys are going to be ready for the season!

I know. And it doesn't help all these off days. They are so damn worried about Rollins and Jeter sharing duties and yet Grandy sits.

03/15/09 7:49 PM ET
Chipper scratched with oblique injury
Team USA's DH pulled from elimination game against Netherlands

By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com

MIAMI -- Chipper Jones aggravated his right oblique muscle, and the veteran slugger was scratched from Team USA's lineup on Sunday night.

The announcement came about 70 minutes before the United States faced The Netherlands in an elimination game in the second round of the World Baseball Classic at Dolphin Stadium.

Jones left the tournament on Sunday night, and he is returning to Orlando to be evaluated by Braves doctors. Jones initially aggravated his oblique in the first round in Toronto. He is the second Team USA player to return to Spring Training due to injury. On Saturday, Boston's Dustin Pedroia also left the team with a strained left oblique.

Because rosters were set on Saturday, Team USA cannot replace Jones on the roster for the remainder of Round 2. However, if Team USA advances to the semifinals, it can add a third baseman from its provisional roster. Team USA is playing with 27 players, rather than 28. The only position that can be replaced in the middle of a round is catcher.

Risk of injury is the biggest criticism of the Classic.

"I don't know that it wouldn't have happened in Orlando," Jones said when asked about the risk of injury in the Classic. "We're at the point in Spring Training where we're starting to extend the number of at-bats and number of innings that we play in Spring Training. I'm not going to say that it wouldn't have happened in Spring Training.

"I'm not less aggressive than I would have been here. I want to get something out of each at-bat. I think myself and Dustin Pedroia will tell you that this can happen at any point. Dustin did his, doing extra work, which is stuff we do every day. I'm not a big proponent of blasting the WBC because somebody gets hurt."

Jones has been hindered by the oblique since early in the Classic. A switch-hitter who has been batting left-handed of late, Jones was hitless in three at-bats in Saturday's 11-1 loss to Puerto Rico.

The Braves' All-Star third baseman was in the lineup as the designated hitter on Sunday. He was replaced by Derek Jeter, who batted third.

Jones is 0-for-10 in the Classic.

Now, Jones' primary concern is being healthy for Opening Day.

"I hope so, as long as we take care of it now," he said. "And we don't come back too soon and just have it linger. This is one of those things that can linger, especially for a switch-hitter. I'm no good if I'm not at 100 percent."

Jones tweaked the oblique during a round of batting practice on Sunday. It reached the point where there was pain when he tried to extend for pitches. On the inside pitch, he felt fine.

Most of his swings have been from the left side.

"It had a little bit of the lingering effects from Canada," Jones said. "It's worse than it was in Canada."

Saying goodbye to his teammates was tough for Jones.

"They were disappointed as much as I was, and as much as Dustin was [Saturday]," Jones said.

Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Sunday, March 15, 2009 9:31:00 PM
Dice-K, Japan own Cuba in Classic play
Righty throws six shutout innings, remains undefeated in tournament

By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com

• Box score >
  
• Recap: JPN 6, CUB 0 F: Watch
  

SAN DIEGO -- Lightning struck twice in the same ballpark for the Japanese on Sunday.

Just like three years ago when Japan defeated the Cubans here to win the inaugural World Baseball Classic title, the Japanese defeated the islanders at PETCO Park, this time 6-0.

Once again, Japan jumped out to a big early lead and rode the strong right arm of Daisuke Matsuzaka on to victory.

"Well, against Cuba, I just thought about the [2006] finals, [pitching] like last time," said Matsuzaka, a member of the Seibu Lions then and the Red Sox now. "That's how I wanted to pitch today. It worked for me."

It worked for the Japanese, too. In this double-elimination format, they are one win away from ascending to the semifinals again, this time at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles next Sunday evening. They'll play the winner of Sunday night's Korea vs. Mexico game on Tuesday night here at 8 ET as the second round continues.

Cuba, meanwhile, which has been to the finals in its last 40 international tournaments, will try to stave off elimination on Monday, also at 8 p.m., against the loser of the Korea-Mexico game.

Both teams are now 3-1 in this year's tournament. The Cubans, who swept through the first round without a loss, tried to take the first glitch in stride.

"Stay calm," Cuban manager Higinio Velez told fans of Cuba baseball. "We are going to come back tomorrow with our all. Nobody will win this Classic without losing any games."

In the 2006 finals, the 5-3 Japanese vanquished the Cubans, 10-6, with Matsuzaka pitching the first four innings, allowing one run on four hits with five strikeouts. That night, Japan handed Matsuzaka a 4-0 lead before he took the mound in the bottom of the first.

Less than a year later, the Red Sox paid the Lions a $51.1 million posting fee and signed the right-hander to a six-year, $52 million contract.

On Sunday, as the Japanese played small ball in the wide PETCO environs to jump out to a 3-0 lead with three runs in the top of the third, Matsuzaka was even better and proved virtually unreachable. He allowed five hits -- all singles -- whiffed eight and walked none in his six innings of work.

Dice-K threw an economical 86 pitches -- one over the second-round limit for a starter -- 61 for strikes.

The free-swinging Cubans whiffed 12 times in the game against four Japanese pitchers and didn't collect an extra-base hit until Frederich Cepeda doubled to lead off the ninth. He was still standing on second as the game ended.

"Well, yesterday, within myself, I was thinking about Cuba," Japanese manager Tatsunori Hara said. "I was thinking of outcomes and situations, but what happened today was better than that."

The tournament MVP three years ago when Matsuzaka went 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA, he's added two more victories in this Classic, bringing his overall two-tournament record to 5-0 with a 1.57 ERA. He was the winner this year in Japan's opening-round second game at Tokyo Dome, defeating Korea, 14-2.

Matsuzaka also mastered the Cubans during pool play in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, pitching 8 1/3 innings of a 6-3 Japan win. That day, he allowed three earned runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out seven.

"I know Cuba is a good team, but particularly there was nothing I was too worried about," Matsuzaka said. "I knew that if I just concentrated, I'd have no problem."

Indeed. He's the only man in baseball history to own this trifecta: a part of the 2006 World Classic title, the 2006 Classic MVP trophy and a World Series ring with the 2007 Red Sox.

Against the highly rated Cubans in international play, Matsuzaka is now 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA in three starts.

In his two years pitching for the Red Sox, he's 33-15, following an eight-year career with the Lions in which he finished 108-60. He's also 3-1 for Boston in seven postseason starts, including a Game 3 victory over the Rockies in the 2007 World Series.

Matsuzaka is still a favorite of Japanese baseball fans everywhere and certainly, at 28, an accomplished big-game pitcher.

"Matsuzaka is a well-known pitcher who has competed in many different international events, the Olympics, as well as the World Series," Velez said." We faced a wonderful pitcher today, and we did not face an unknown at all. It's a pitcher that we respect quite a bit."

Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

laprimamirala wrote:

I guess it means different things to different teams. I say bring it back to the Olympics and we wouldn't have this mess!

If the Olympics still has curling, which has only a handful of nations competing, then it can have baseball, which has 16 countries participating!

laprimamirala wrote:

laprimamirala wrote:

I guess it means different things to different teams. I say bring it back to the Olympics and we wouldn't have this mess!

If the Olympics still has curling, which has only a handful of nations competing, then it can have baseball, which has 16 countries participating!

true

03/16/09 12:06 AM ET
Team USA finishes off Netherlands
Rollins, Roberts combine for five hits, five RBIs at top of order

By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com

• Netherlands-U.S. box score>
  
• Recap: USA 9, NED 3 - Watch
  

MIAMI -- Team USA is safe for at least another game.

Facing elimination on Sunday night, the United States rebounded with a convincing 9-3 win over The Netherlands at Dolphin Stadium.

Roy Oswalt responded with a gutsy performance while Jimmy Rollins and Brian Roberts energized the top of the order.

Rollins had a homer, triple and four RBIs. Roberts, meanwhile, made an immediate impact in his Team USA debut with three hits, including a double and triple. Adam Dunn added a homer as the game got out of hand in the late innings.

Roberts reached in all five of his plate appearances. He was 3-for-3 with a single, double, triple and two walks as he put himself in position for a cycle.

After being upended, 11-1, by Puerto Rico on Saturday, Team USA played in Sunday's elimination game. The Netherlands, a Cinderella story, is now finished in the Classic, having lost twice in as many days.

In the loss to Puerto Rico, Team USA's top four hitters went 0-for-12. It was a different story on Sunday, with Rollins and Roberts combining to go 5-for-7 with two walks, four runs scored and five RBIs.

The United States on Tuesday will play the loser of Monday night's Puerto Rico-Venezuela game. For Team USA, the stakes are the same.

The loser will be eliminated, while the winner will advance to the semifinals, regardless of the outcome on Wednesday, the final day of Round 2 play at Dolphin Stadium.

"As far as payback, we got outpitched and outhit the first game badly," U.S. manager Davey Johnson said. "I don't care too much about the 10-run rule. That doesn't bother me too much. That can happen in a ballgame, especially in the spring.

"But we're looking forward to playing somebody from [Monday] night's game. It doesn't much matter to me who it is. We've been beaten by both of them, so it doesn't much matter to me."

A crowd of 11,059 watched Oswalt set an early tone on Sunday. Baffling The Netherlands with a 94 mph fastball and a 79 mph changeup, he tossed four scoreless innings, striking out five while not issuing a walk. The Astros right-hander exited after 70 pitches. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning, retiring Randall Simon on a popout to short.

"I think the biggest thing for a starting pitcher, you try to set a tone early," Oswalt said. "The first inning, you try to go out there and get some quick outs, get the guys in the dugout and let them swing the bat a little bit."

The energetic Rollins challenged Oswalt after Saturday's loss.

"I told Roy last night when we got on the bus, 'I don't know if they make big-game pitchers down in Mississippi,'" Rollins said to Oswalt. "He said this wasn't his first rodeo and he came and proved it."

With runners on the corners in the fourth inning, Oswalt escaped by striking out Kenley Jansen looking, preserving a three-run early lead.

Pitching has been the strength of The Netherlands throughout the Classic. Entering Sunday, the team combined to allow 14 total runs in five games. But the United States slapped out 11 hits, and scored in five of the first six innings.

Right-hander Rick VandenHurk of the Marlins was lifted after two innings, giving up three runs (one earned) while throwing 55 pitches.

Rollins' two-out, two-run homer in the second inning gave Team USA a three-run cushion. Both runs were unearned because with two outs, Curtis Granderson reached on a two-base error by right fielder Dirk Van't Klooster. Four pitches later, Rollins ripped a two-run shot to right field.

"I got to face VandenHurk during the season and it's going to be a challenge," Rollins said. "He's tall. He throws the ball well, knows his spots, throws a curveball well, so you just have to go out there and accept the challenge."

Team USA struck quickly in the first inning.

Roberts made a grand entrance as Dustin Pedroia's replacement.

Roberts joined the team on Sunday, filling in after Pedroia left with a left strained oblique. Ironically, Pedroia was 2-for-16 in the Classic. Roberts had hits in his first three at-bats.

In the first, Roberts singled with one out and he scored on David Wright's sacrifice fly.

Team USA tacked on three more runs in the fourth inning. Rollins and Roberts again were key contributors, with each delivering back-to-back triples. Rollins' three-base hit scored Chris Iannetta, who walked. Roberts triple was hit third straight of the game. He scored on Kevin Youkilis' RBI fielder's choice grounder.

Yurendell De Caster's RBI double in the seventh inning put The Netherlands on the board. Bryan Engelhardt homered off Matt Lindstrom in the eighth inning, and some tension built when Vince Rooi stepped into the batters box. Lindstrom, who has a 100 mph fastball, sailed a pitch to the screen.

The errant toss upset The Netherlands' bench, and players began walking onto the field, but order was immediately restored. Rooi lifted a flyout to right field, and on his way to the dugout, he trotted across the mound, within a few feet of Lindstrom.

Lindstrom didn't make it through the inning. During the sequence with Sharnol Adriana, the Marlins closer appeared to favor his right side. He stretched his arm, and retired Adriana on a sacrifice fly to right field.

Immediately, he was tended to on the mound, and left the game. The hard-throwing right-hander felt soreness in his shoulder, and he will have an MRI on Monday.

Lindstrom said the incident with Rooi at the plate was prompted by Engelhardt's home run trot and the fact his shoulder wasn't completely right.

"It also was to send a message, a little bit," Lindstrom said. "I don't know. It's early still in March, and stuff like that. I thought that he took a little bit too long [rounding the bases]. He knew he got it. Whatever. I wasn't trying to hit [Rooi]."

Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Glad to see Dolphin Stadium can still draw a crowd

SoulRat wrote:

Glad to see Dolphin Stadium can still draw a crowd

Is that stadium ever full?

Sure as hell never is for baseball at least

gs78 wrote:

SoulRat wrote:

Glad to see Dolphin Stadium can still draw a crowd

Is that stadium ever full?

Sure as hell never is for baseball at least

Why'd they pick that stadium for this tournament?

This whole tournament is a sham. Could you imagine only 11,000-some-odd fans at a World Cup game? Yeah right - it wouldn't matter if it was something like Costa Rica vs. Liechtenstein and played in Argentina - the place would be packed.

Who knows?

laprimamirala wrote:

sounds like a sore loser to me!

I don't know

I think the WBC is a joke


Too many BS rules; like the mercy rule

gs78 wrote:

SoulRat wrote:

Glad to see Dolphin Stadium can still draw a crowd

Is that stadium ever full?

Sure as hell never is for baseball at least

No.

catbox_9 wrote:

gs78 wrote:

SoulRat wrote:

Glad to see Dolphin Stadium can still draw a crowd

Is that stadium ever full?

Sure as hell never is for baseball at least

Why'd they pick that stadium for this tournament?

This whole tournament is a sham. Could you imagine only 11,000-some-odd fans at a World Cup game? Yeah right - it wouldn't matter if it was something like Costa Rica vs. Liechtenstein and played in Argentina - the place would be packed.

That's a good question. Out of all the parks in America, they chose the one that never draws a baseball crowd. Idiots This entire thing is embarassing for us.