...Didi Gregorius celebrates his third double...
...He was 3-for-4 (all doubles), scored twice...
..and batted in three runs...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
Netherlands vs. Chinese Taipei
Manager Hensley Meulens used the same starting line-up as he did in the opener against South Korea on Tuesday.
Former Major Leaguer Jair Jurrjens was the starting pitcher for the Orange squad.
The righthander gave up an one-out single to Chih-Hao Chang in the first inning, but he was forced out.
Jurrjens then walked the next batter, but closed with a strikeout.
In the bottom of the first inning, Taipei-starter Chia-Hao Sung retired the side, but he gave up a run in the next at bat.
First, Jurrjens returned to the mound in the second inning.
He began with two strikeouts, then walked the next two batters.
The two runners stranded, as a pop-out ended the at bat.
The Netherlands then opened the score in the bottom of the second.
Wladimir Balentien led off with a single, then Didi Gregorius doubled with one out.
Hereafter, Balentien was eliminated at the plate trying to score on a grounder to third by Curt Smith.
That brought Gregorius to third base and he then scored when Dashenko Ricardo followed with a single.
In the top of the third inning, Jurrjens again got baserunners and also gave up two runs.
Chih-Hao Chang and Chih-Hsien Chiang led off with singles, which led to runners on first and third base.
Moments later, Chang scored the tying run on a wild pitch.
Chiang advanced to third base and scored on a following sacrifice fly by Chih-Sheng Lin to give Taipei a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the third, Sung retired the Dutch side again.
Lars Huijer took over the Orange pitching in the top of the fourth and also retired the side.
The Netherlands then rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-2 lead.
Wladimir Balentien and Jonathan Schoop began the at bat with singles.
They both scored on a following double into left-centerfield by Didi Gregorius, which put the Netherlands ahead 3-2.
After next batter Curt Smith flied out, Shao-Ching Chiang became the new Taipei-pitcher.
He was greeted with a runscoring single by Dashenko Ricardo that made it a 4-2 score.
Hereafter, Randolph Oduber was hit by a pitch, but a force out ended the at bat, stranding two runners.
...Short stop Andrelton Simmons forces out a Taipei-runner...
...Simmons also made a double play again today...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
Chinese Taipei reacted immediately by scoring three runs on five hits in the top of the fifth inning to re-take the lead off of Huiijer, who had a tough inning.
Huijer gave up a lead-off single to Chin-Lung Hu, then Chih-Hao Chang homered to tie the score.
Next batter Chih-Hsien Chiang also singled, advanced on a wild pitch, then moved when Chih-Sheng Lin delivered the fourth consecutive basehit.
The latter was forced out, but that enabled Chiang to score and put Taipei ahead, 5-4.
Huijer followed with a strikeout, then hit Yung-Chi Chen with a pitch and gave up a single to Kun-Sheng Lin which loaded the bases.
The righthander avoided giving up more runs, as a flyout ended the at bat.
In the bottom of the fifth, Jurickson Profar led off with a single for the Netherlands, but was eliminated when Xander Bogaerts grounded into a double play.
Another single followed, this time by Wladimir Balentien, but he stranded.
Taipei got its lead-off hitter on base again in the top of the sixth off of new pitcher Mike Bolsenbroek.
Chin-Lung Hu led off with a single, but a double play and pop-out followed.
Bolsenbroek gave up a 2-out single in the seventh, but that didn't harm him.
The righthander retired the side in the eighth.
In the meantime, Taipei-reliever Shao-Ching Chiang retired the side in the sixth and seventh inning.
He returned to the mound in the bottom of the eighth, but this time, he gave up a lead-off single to Xander Bogaerts.
Hereafter, Wladimir Balentien connected for his fourth basehit in the game.
With its first two batters on base, the Netherlands had something in the making, but hereafter Jonathan Schoop grounded into a double play.
Schoop was the last batter Chiang faced, as Fu-Te Ni entered the game as new pitcher with Bogaerts on third base.
He faced Didi Gregorius, who then connected for his third double in the game (down the leftfield-line) to bring in Bogaerts and tie the score at 5-5.
That immediately led to another pitching change, as Hung-Wen Chen took over.
With Gregorius on second base, Yurendell de Caster entered as pinch-hitter for Curt Smith, but he grounded out to end the inning.
In the top of the ninth, Shairon Martis took over the Dutch pitching and retired the side.
In the bottom of the ninth, Orange lead-off hitter Dashenko Ricardo reached on an error by Taipei's third baseman.
He got into scoring position when next batter Randolph Oduber was hit by a pitch and the bases then got loaded when Andrelton Simmons singled.
Dwayne Kemp then replaced Ricardo at third base as pinch-runner and represented the winning run.
He then indeed scored the winning run when Jurickson Profar received a walk-off walk that made it 6-5 in favor of the Netherlands.
Profar hit the ball into rightfield on the first pitch he saw, but the delivery came just after Japanese 3B umpire Chikara Tsugawa called a time-out, which wasn't noticed by American Major League-Home Plate Umpire Ted Barrett.
The ball that Profar hit was caught by the rightfielder (which would have been the first out), but the action was reversed.
Orange Manager Hensley Meulens of course came out to ask for an explanation.
Barrett and Tsugawa had a brief discussion, making it clear that a time-out had been called.
And so Profar, stepped back into the batter's box and ended the game with his walk.
And with that, Pool A was decided, as because of the Netherlands wins, the Orange squad and Israel advance to the Second Round.
The following players got into action:
Andrelton Simmons (SS, 1-for-5), Jurickson Profar (CF, 1-for-4, RBI, walk, strikeout), Xander Bogaerts (3B, 1-for-4, run), Wladimir Balentien (RF, 4-for-4, run), Jonathan Schoop (2B, 1-for-4, run), Didi Gregorius (DH, 3-for-4, 3 doubles, 2 runs, 3 RBI's), Curt Smith (1B, 0-for-3), Yurendell de Caster (PH-1B, 0-for-1), Dashenko Ricardo (C, 2-for-4, 2 RBI's), Dwayne Kemp (PR, run), Randolph Oduber (LF, 0-for-2, hit by pitch).
|
Netherlands advances to Second Round WBC after walk-off win; Israel also in
SEOUL (South Korea) -
The Netherlands Kingdom Team won 6-5 against Chinese Taipei on Wednesday-evening (March 8) to advance to the Second Round of the World Baseball Classic.
Because of the win, Israel also qualified for the Second Round, which will be played in Tokyo (Japan) and opens next Sunday.
The advancing of Israel, which plays in its first WBC, is a major surprise, as Asian powerhouses South Korea and Chinese Taipei are now eliminated.
South Korea also was eliminated in the First Round four years ago.
The Netherlands opened the event on Tuesday with a 5-0 shutout-win against South Korea, which already had lost its first game.
The fourth edition of the World Baseball Classic opened on Monday with a major upset, as Israel, which made its WBC-debut, won 2-1 in ten innings against South Korea.
Today's win didn't come easy, as the first two Dutch pitchers saw Taipei reach base frequently, which led to a 5-4 deficit halfway the fifth inning.
The Orange squad came alongside in the eighth on the third double in the game by Didi Gregorius, who was 3-for-4, scored twice and batted in three runs.
Gregorius was responsible for the first five Orange-runs.
The Netherlands then got the bases loaded with no outs in the ninth and won on a walk-off walk for Jurickson Profar.
75th game in history of the Netherlands playing vs. Chinese Taipei.