The Dominican Republic entered the WBC with what many experts were calling the “best lineup ever,” and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto helped his country prove it as he hit a home run in a 12-1 romp over the Netherlands that caused the mercy rule to be applied.
The winners pounded Netherlands pitchers for over two hours, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, hitting four homers to race out to the big lead. Soto’s home run in the seventh inning proved to be the winner, as it triggered a WBC rule in which the mercy rule is applied if a team is leading by more than ten runs after seven innings.
Dominican manager Albert Pujols hit his share of homers during his long, illustrious career, but the final margin didn’t seem to matter much to him.
“No matter if you win by one run or by knockout, the most important thing is to win the game,” Pujols said. “We have a very good team with a great offense, a very good bullpen, starters, you name it. The credit is all for the guys; they are extremely motivated.”
The other home runs came from Vladimir Guerrero, who broke the game open with a two-run shot in the third, with Junior Camera and Austin Wells adding a pair of homers in the six-run fifth inning that broke the game open.
Dominican Republic players aren’t shy about celebrating their achievements, either. According to Feinsand, they’ve come up with a customized home-run jacket that features the names of the entire team, which includes several hitters who are almost certain to make the Hall of Fame.
As for Soto, he knew his time would come, but it took a while to arrive. Pujols was actually planning to remove some starters to give his bench players some playing time, but Soto wasn’t “on board with that plan,” as Feinsand put it.
“I knew that I would bat in the next inning,” Soto said. “I wanted to help the guys in the bullpen. He wanted to take me out, and I said, ‘No, let's continue, let me hit.’”
Soto ended the carnage early, hitting a two-run shot to right center, then pointing to Pujols in the dugout as if to drive home his point.
“It's a beautiful experience,” Soto said. “The homer sealed the game today, but we have a long way to go yet.”
Next up for the Dominican Republic is a noon tilt with Israel today as they attempt to improve on their 3-0 record so far. All the best to the Israeli pitchers as they attempt to shut down Soto and friends after what happened yesterday.