Melky Cabrera, a former New York Yankees outfielder, drove a liner to the left field wall in the fifth to bring home Dominican Republic’s one run.
Mexico was unable to score after Jose Bautista (ex-Blue Jays infielder) threw out Isaac Rodriguez, a Dominican player who had been trying for a double. Mexico lost the video challenge.
Emilio Bonifacio, a long-time Florida Marlins infielder, chased down the ball in left center later in this inning.
Angel Sanchez, Dominican’s starter, and Ramon Rosso, the reliever, held Mexico to just two hits over six innings. A trio of other pitchers didn’t allow any more runs the rest of the game.
The other side of the ball was Mexico’s designated hitter, former San Diego Padres second baseman Adrian Gonzalez. He had two hits and one walk in his four plate appearances.
Julio Rodriguez, Dominican Republic’s right fielder, and Gustavo Nunez (second baseman) collided in the third inning as Nunez chased a fly ball. Rodriguez was also hit in the face by the fly ball. After receiving medical attention, they remained in the game.
Play was also halted for 30 seconds due to heavy downpour. There were two outs in the first inning.
Mexico is now 0-1. Dominican Republic stands at 1-1. Japan (1-0) will face Mexico on Saturday. The team with the highest record between the three teams will not be required to play again until Monday’s quarterfinals. The two remaining teams will face off against each other on Sunday alongside their counterparts in the South Korea-United States/Israel tournament grouping.
