Pool 2 of the Second Round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic was held at Marlins Park, Miami, Florida, United States from March 12 to 16, 2013.
Contents
- Results
- Puerto Rico 4 Italy 3
- Dominican Republic 3 United States 1
- Puerto Rico 4 United States 3
- References
Pool 2 was a modified double-elimination tournament. The winners for the first games matched up in the second game, while the losers faced each other in an elimination game. The winners of the elimination game then played the losers of the non-elimination game in another elimination game. The remaining two teams then played each other to determine seeding for the semifinals.
Pool 2 MVP: Robinson Canó
Results
Puerto Rico 4, Italy 3
Italy's early lead in the 5th inning has causesd team Puerto Rico to bring themselves closer to elimination until they have managed to ultimately steal the lead from the Italians when the Puerto Rican scored three additional runs from the eighth inning, as the Italian teams struggle to get ahead, only to end up earning themselves two more errors, as Puerto Rico clinched their win over Italy.
Dominican Republic 3, United States 1
Tournament RBI leader and American leader David Wright sat the game out with a sore back. The game showed to be close all the way to the 9th. American closer Craig Kimbrel was brought in the 9th inning of the 1−1 game to hold the score. Immediately Kimbrel gave up a lead off double to Nelson Cruz, despite not giving up one all year with the Atlanta Braves in 2012. Erick Aybar drove Cruz in and would later score himself off a single by José Reyes as the Dominican Republic would maintain their undefeated record.
MLB Network announcer Tom Verducci, on seeing the jubilant reaction of the Dominican players after they took the lead in the game said "this is beyond October."
Puerto Rico 4, United States 3
With the absence of David Wright, the American team face off against Puerto Rico once again. Puerto Rico takes an early lead in the first inning and stretched the lead further in the sixth inning 4-0. The US struggles to catch up, but J.C. Romero barely manages to stave off from the bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning. The US team eventually loses 4-3 against the Puerto Rican team, thus missing their chances of qualifying to the Championship round.