Dominican Republic rebounds to oust Panama
(miamiherald.com) No upset this time.
9-0 on Sunday in San Juan. The loss eliminated Panama from the 16-team tournament.
''We were against the wall, and we're still against the wall,'' Dominican Republic manager Felipe Alou said. ``But the win proves that we still can pitch and bat well.''
A three-run third inning gave the Dominican Republic the lead, and three home runs -- including two from former Marlins catcher Miguel Olivio -- sealed the victory.
''Everyone knows that the Dominican team has a good offense that could put up a lot of runs,'' said Nelson Cruz, who also homered.
Dominican pitcher Johnny Cueto had a shaky start, hitting two batters and walking another in the first two innings. Cueto settled down and pitched 4 2/3 innings, striking out five.
Panama starter Ramiro Morales was perfect through two innings, but errors proved costly in the third inning. Jose Guillen led off the inning with a sharp ground ball that shortstop Ruben Tejada bobbled. Three batters later, with the bases loaded and one out, Willy Taveras hit a ground ball that third baseman Javier Castillo dropped, allowing Guillen to score from third. After Fernado Tatis hit into a fielder's choice to score a run, David Ortiz had an RBI single that gave the Dominicans a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, Olivio hit his second home run of the game to deep left field to give the Dominicans a 9-0 lead.
The Dominican Republic next will play Tuesday against the loser of a game Monday between Puerto Rico and the Netherlands.
