The second World Baseball Classic semifinals game will be played today as the Dominican Republic plays the Netherlands at 9 p.m. ET as one team will advance to play Puerto Rico in the championship. Check out the live stream available at the end of the article. First, let's look how these teams matchup.
By now, you've probably heard how the Netherlands owe the Dominicans big time. Though it occurred four years ago, it's still fresh in the Dominicans' mind. They have been playing this WBC like they've been preparing for this all tournament. So far, the Dominicans haven't really been challenged. Aside from the game against Italy, the Dominicans have dominated their opponents and won all six of their games played.
Just when the Netherlands looked to be out of contention after losing 16-4 and getting mercy ruled by Japan, they defeated Cuba and eliminated them out of the tournament. They were beaten once again 10-6 by Japan and had to settle for second place where now they once again look dead as they face a red hot Dominicans team.
The predictions are ready. It's difficult to pick a winner. The Netherlands haven't been in action in over a week. The Japanese took the field as the favorite against Puerto Rico and they wound up losing. It will be interesting to see if the Netherlands will suffer from a lack of playing. The Dominicans offense has been slowing down as of late. They scored three runs against Team USA and then followed that performance with just two runs against Puerto Rico.
This is proof that the Dominicans are playing as a team. The hitting has been slowing down while the pitching has thrived allowing just five runs in the second round, four of which came in one game against Italy.
Can the Dominican Republic get payback against their rival Netherlands or will they one again disappoint? The Netherlands knocked out the powerhouse of Cuba already, it will be interesting to see if they can duplicate this performance.
Click here to watch the live stream, free online, of the Dominican Republic vs. Netherlands in the 2013 WBC semifinals.
