A cataclysm occurred when the Dominican Republic was eliminated in the first round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC). Big league stars, including Manny Machado (San Diego Padres), all mobilized, but they bowed their heads as they performed a poor game that was not suitable for a championship candidate.

The Dominican Republic lost to Puerto Rico 2-5 in the final match of Group D in the first round of the 2023 WBC finals held at Londipo Park in Miami, Florida, on the 16th (Korean time).

It wasn’t good from the start. In the top of the third inning, starting pitcher Johnny Cueto let Puerto Rico’s Cristian Vazquez lead the way with a solo home run, and the atmosphere was overturned in the early stages.스포츠토토

Puerto Rico, which gained momentum, gained additional points as Baymel Machin, Martin Maldonado, and Francisco Lindor hit consecutively. With the score widening to 4-0, they drove the Dominican Republic to the brink.

The Dominican Republic made up for one point with Juan Soto’s solo at the end of the 3rd inning, but in the top of the 5th, Puerto Rico gave up another point, bringing the score back to 1-5, 4 points away.

The Dominican Republic could not even save the chance with the base loaded safely at the bottom of the 5th inning. The flow stopped as Manny Machado, whom he believed in, stopped shortstop, second baseman, and first baseman in a double hit. A third base runner scored to make it 2-5, but it wasn’t the result we expected.

The Dominican Republic then failed to attack the Puerto Rico mound in the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th innings and ended up scoreless. If they had won the game that day, they could have advanced to the quarterfinals by finishing second in Group D, but the ticket to the quarterfinals went to Puerto Rico.

The Dominican Republic, along with Japan, was considered a strong contender for the championship, as it was lined with big league stars such as Manny Machado and Juan Soto, teammates of Kim Ha-seong (San Diego Padres). In the case of Machado, it became a hot topic by signing a super-large contract worth 350 million dollars (about 463.7 billion won) with an 11-year contract period until 2033, prior to the WBC.

However, the 2023 WBC between Dominican Republic and Machado ended in tragedy. After winning the tournament in 2013, he aimed for the top spot in 10 years, but did not survive the group of death. Venezuela took first place in Group D. Venezuela won their final Group D match against Israel with a 5-1 victory and advanced to the quarterfinals with a win.

Kim Ha-seong also finished the WBC in a lonely way due to Korea’s first round elimination, and Machado and Soto also received the bitter report card of failing to advance to the second round and promised the next tournament.