As the baseballs rocketed around various patches of Dolphin Stadium on Saturday night, the atmosphere escalated from eager to exciting to enthusiastic. A serious baseball party blossomed here, but Puerto Rico, not the US, provided almost all of the entertainment.
Puerto Rico acted so comfortably that this World Baseball Classic (WBC) game might as well have been played in San Juan. The Puerto Ricans scorched Jake Peavy for six runs in the first two innings and gave their noisy fans a chance to wave flags, blow horns and whistle while cruising to an 11-1 victory.
How embarrassing was the loss for the Americans? When Mike Aviles blooped a two-run single in the seventh inning to boost Puerto Rico’s bulge to 10 runs, the umpires started walking off the field.
The game ended because of the 10-run mercy rule, meaning the Americans felt like high school softball players for one forgettable night.
“We got hit by truck,” David Wright said after the game.
After being battered by Puerto Rico, the Americans were set to play their most important game of the tournament against the surprising Netherlands yesterday. The Dutch lost to Venezuela, 3-1, in the first game. Now the Netherlands could eliminate the mighty Americans by winning. Puerto Rico and Venezuela will face each other today.
Carlos Beltran homered and drove in two runs and Carlos Delgado also had two runs batted in. By the time 13 Puerto Ricans had batted, the score was 6-0. It was early, but it was already late for the Americans.
The Netherlands was lurking a run behind Venezuela and threatening in the eighth inning, making another baseball power antsy. The Dutch boys had two men on with two outs and were trying to duplicate their two stunning wins over the Dominican Republic.
The Venezuelans had an answer. They had Francisco Rodriguez. If the Dutch players needed evidence that Venezuela took them seriously, it came when Manager Luis Sojo asked Rodriguez to secure four outs. Rodriguez did not do that once last season, never mind in the middle of March.
The Dutch were only trailing 2-1 when Rodriguez, the Mets’ closer, retired Sharnol Adriana on a groundout in the eighth. Rodriguez pumped his fist, as he often does after pivotal outs. No major leaguer has had more saves than Rodriguez’s 62 for the Los Angeles Angels last year.
And now K-Rod has one against the Dutch, too.
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Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB