MLB · 2 hours ago

Dominican Republic, Venezuela Advance From WBC Pool D

SportsGrid Contributor Just Baseball

Host · Writer

It didn’t take long to discover the clear favorites in Pool D. Only three games were needed for Venezuela and the Dominican Republic to clinch their spots in the quarterfinals.

While I’d love to write with a flair for the dramatic on the intense nature of quarterfinals qualification, the truth is, there was never much of a question. Venezuela defeated Israel, the Netherlands, and Nicaragua by at least four runs. The D.R., meanwhile, beat each of those teams by at least nine runs.

By the time the fourth game of pool play rolled around, teams already had their fate sealed. Venezuela and the D.R. sat at 3-0, respectively, with the remaining three at 1-2, 1-2, and 0-3, respectively.

In many ways, these games between the lower three teams made for some of the best. The walk-off home run in the Netherlands’ win over Nicaragua would be an all-time great moment if it were in the quarterfinals, for example. So, while there was a fair share of tense games, many of them did not have major implications for which teams made the quarterfinals.

As a result, the most impactful game of this pool came at the very end. Wednesday night. 8:00 P.M. ET. The Dominican Republic and Venezuela. The winner’s reward? A date with South Korea as opposed to the more worrisome Japanese team.

Both offenses got to the starters early. The Dominican Republic’s Sandy Alcantara allowed three runs through the first three innings before his day was over. For Venezuela, Eduardo Rodriguez failed to escape the third inning, finishing with three runs allowed over 2.2 innings.

Once the bullpens were sent in, the Dominicans took control. On the back of a three-run home run from Fernando Tatis Jr, the D.R. took a 7-3 lead.

Venezuela attempted a ninth-inning push, cutting the lead to two runs. With runners at the corners and one out, Salvador Perez grounded into a double play to seal Venezuela’s fate.

On the bright side, both of these teams will still be in the quarterfinals. The D.R. merely gets the less intimidating opponent.

Team Dominican Republic First-Round Recap

Beat Nicaragua (12-3)
Beat the Netherlands (12-1)
Beat Israel (10-1)
Beat Venezuela (7-5)

Entering Pool D, the Dominican Republic was the clear favorite on paper. And in this case, it was the favorite for a reason. With three blowouts and one close win against a strong Venezuela team, the D.R. looks like it could win the whole thing.

Team D.R’s offense was the major show throughout pool play, with six members of its starting lineup posting an OPS north of 1.000. Pair this with a pitching staff that held teams to a sub-3.00 ERA, and this team dominated Pool D play.

After failing to escape the first round in 2023, the Dominican Republic has done a complete 180 this time around. As the quarterfinals are set to begin Friday, the D.R. will continue to chase its first title since 2013.

Standout Performers

Fernando Tatis Jr. (RF): 6-for-13, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 5 BB, 1.534 OPS
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B): 6-for-12, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 1.583 OPS
Juan Soto (LF): 5-for-15, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1.233 OPS

Team Venezuela First-Round Recap

Beat the Netherlands (6-2)
Beat Israel (11-3)
Beat Nicaragua (4-0)
Lost to the Dominican Republic (7-5)

After a perfect 4-0 performance in pool play last season, Venezuela began its 2026 campaign with much of the same. The major tone-setting game was an opening victory against the Netherlands, which proved to be a team effort. Four pitchers threw at least one scoreless inning, and eight of nine starters recorded a hit.

The game against Israel showed the offensive firepower of this Venezuelan team. Five different hitters recorded an RBI, with Arráez recording five of them and a pair of homers. Then, the Nicaragua game proved the well-roundedness of the roster yet again, with seven pitchers contributing to the nine-inning shutout.

Despite a loss to the Dominican Republic, Venezuela made it very close with one of the most stacked rosters in WBC history. Manager Omar López and company have shown that this team can compete with the best. The question becomes: will it?

Standout Performers

Luis Arráez (2B): 7-for-14, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 1.743 OPS
Ronald Acuña Jr. (RF): 4-for-13, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 6 BB, 1.141 OPS
José Buttó (P): 3 G, 4 IP, 0 ER, 1 K

Team Israel First-Round Recap

Lost to Venezuela (11-3)
Beat Nicaragua (5-0)
Lost to the Dominican Republic (10-1)
Beat the Netherlands (6-2)

While this wasn’t the underdog tale of 2017, Israel did improve by one win over its last WBC performance. The team kicked things off with a brutal loss to a buzzsaw in Venezuela. It’s always a tough start when a team’s pitching staff makes Luis Arraez look like the second coming of Hank Aaron.

Team Israel bounced back with a shutout of Nicaragua, thanks to Dean Kremer and company. This enthusiasm was short-lived, however, after a walloping at the hands of the D.R. While the pitching staff did quiet the noise for a while after an explosive second inning, the hole was simply too deep to escape.

By the end of pool play, Team Israel did end on a high note. In a true bullpen game, eight Israeli pitchers held the Netherlands to just two runs. Combine that with solid closing performances from the lineup’s MLB mainstays, and Team Israel leaves the WBC at a respectable 2-2.

Standout Performers

Noah Mendlinger (RF): 5-for-14, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 1.117 OPS
RJ Schreck (CF): 2-for-11, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 BB, .855 OPS
Dean Kremer (P): 1 GS, 4.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 4 K

Team Netherlands First-Round Recap

Lost to Venezuela (6-2)
Beat Nicaragua (4-3)
Lost to the Dominican Republic (12-1)
Lost to Israel (6-2)

The Netherlands is a perennial WBC powerhouse, but Father Time proved to be too much for this aging team. While the Netherlands certainly had a chance of making the quarterfinals, it was bound to be an uphill battle, and the opening loss to Venezuela did not set a positive tone.

From there, a win against Nicaragua proved too close for comfort, with a two-out, three-run home run from Ozzie Albies saving a certain defeat. That was the only win the Netherlands would receive.

First, they lost in just seven innings to the D.R. with the only bright spot being a Didi Gregorius homer off of Luis Severino in the second inning. In the Netherlands’ final contest, it took a two-run lead over Team Israel in the first and held onto it for five innings. But, in the sixth, Israel exploded for five runs and didn’t look back, sealing the Dutch into a 1-3 fate.

Standout Performers

Druw Jones (RF): 4-for-10, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 1.063 OPS
Xander Bogaerts (SS): 5-for-15, 1 RBI, 1 SB, .812 OPS
Ozzie Albies (2B): 3-for-15, 1 HR, 4 RBI

Team Nicaragua First-Round Recap

Lost to the Dominican Republic (12-3)
Lost to the Netherlands (4-3)
Lost to Israel (5-0)
Lost to Venezuela (4-0)

It proved to be another rough season for Team Nicaragua. After qualifying for the first time in 2023 and finishing 0-4, Nicaragua once again failed to get its first victory in a WBC game.

The team had closer contests with Israel, Venezuela, and the D.R. in 2023, but this season proved to be a steeper level of competition. However, coming one out away from a victory against the Netherlands is a huge step forward.

This was a building year for Team Nicaragua, and they proved that baseball is on the rise. With legendary manager Dusty Baker at the helm and Mark Vientos joining the team, there is plenty to look forward to should Nicaragua make it back to the WBC again.