There won’t be another magical run this year for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic.
The Dominican Republic made sure of that, beating the Israeli team 10-1 on Monday in Miami.
“It’s never fun to get your butt kicked,” Team Israel manager Brad Ausmus told reporters after the game.
The defeat was Israel’s second loss and ensured that the team’s tournament would end in the first round, unlike the 2017 team that went undefeated in pool play and got into the second round.
Team Israel, now 1-2, concludes its World Baseball Classic appearance on Tuesday against the Netherlands. No matter what happens during that game, Team Israel will be guaranteed a spot in the next World Baseball Classic by virtue of Sunday’s victory against Nicaragua.
A win on Tuesday would double Team Israel’s win total from 2023.
The Dominican Republic was seeded second, behind only the defending champion Japan, and it fielded an all-major league lineup against Team Israel, including starting pitcher Dominican pitcher Brayan Bello (Boston Red Sox).
Israel had three major leaguers in its batting order and its starter Ryan Prager (Cleveland Guardians) hasn’t pitched above A ball, the lowest level of the minor leagues.
“The atmosphere was great, as always, when you’re playing against the DR here in Miami,” Ausmus said. “Great experience for a lot of guys who have never experienced something like this, and we got some guys in at the end of the game who have never experienced it. So hopefully they have lasting memories from it, so that can be a silver lining.”
Like Saturday’s opening loss to Venezuela, Team Israel fell behind quickly and could never catch up. Also like that game, the Dominican Republic kept adding to its total as the game progressed.
After a flawless first inning, Prager ran into trouble in the second when he walked the bases loaded with one out.
He struck out catcher Agustin Ramirez (Miami Marlins) but then walked shortstop Geraldo Perdomo (Arizona Diamondbacks) to force in a run and gave up a grand-slam homer to right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (San Diego Padres), the first hit of the game. That was all for Prager, the second Israel pitcher in three days to fail to go at least two innings.
Tatis later drove home two more runs in the seventh inning, giving him six runs batted in on the day.
“The key is executing,” Ausmus said. “The execution of the pitches to get them out is the most important part, and with a lot of them it’s very difficult because their weaknesses are small.”
“A guy like Juan Soto, he’s going to make you pay if you miss and there’s not a lot of places you can go to get him out. They have a lot of guys that are similar,” he said. “It’s just a matter of executing the pitches.”
Bello retired the first nine batters to face him, striking out the side in the third.
Designated hitter Spencer Horwitz broke the streak and the shutout in the bottom of the fourth with a home run. His Pittsburgh Pirates teammate, center fielder Oneil Cruz, had homered in the top of the inning.
Bello went five innings, giving up just that one hit and one run.
“It’s obviously one of the best lineups in the world, quite frankly,” Ausmus said. “It presents a lot of challenges. Even when they’re resting some of their guys, the guys that aren’t resting are pretty darned good. It’s formidable.”
“It’s going to be a challenge for any team,” he added.
