The action comes Thursday as the Dominican Republic is set to face a red hot USA team in the World Baseball Classic Pool 2 second round meeting. It's not a must win matchup, which is a shame as it would have brought more drama to an already sizzling meeting. Here's what you can expect to see in this game as the USA and Dominican Republic present themselves as two of the hottest teams in the tournament.
First of all, the Dominicans are undefeated in the World Baseball Classic. Their offensive production has decreased in the last couple of games, but timely hitting and great pitching have been able to keep the Dominicans afloat.
On Tuesday, they defeated the Italians 5-4 in a dramatic come from behind victory after putting up a three-spot in the bottom of the eighth inning. Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz are on absolute fire in the tournament and are one of the many offensive players sparking big innings for the Dominicans.
The Americans have the answer for the Cano and Cruz combo, their names are David Wright and Joe Mauer. Wright is being called "Captain America" while Mauer is simply getting on base and allowing his third baseman to do the rest. Wright is batting .438 with one home run and 10 RBI. You don't want to have the bases loaded in front of this guy. He went 3-3 against Puerto Rico and single-handedly caused most of the damage on the offensive attack.
Cano doesn't have a nickname, but he's hitting .632 with two home runs, six RBI and 22 total bases in four games at the WBC.
On the mound for the U.S. will be R.A. Dickey, who struggled in his first start at the WBC as the Mexicans bullied him around for four runs and six hits in his four innings pitched.
The Dominicans will have Samiel Deduno on the mound and he pitched an almost perfect Game 2 for D.R. in the WBC against Spain. He went four innings, gave up four hits and struck out five without allowing a run.
The game is on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. Expect offense, great defense and great relief pitching.
