Game 3: Israel vs. República Dominicana

Who is Team República Dominicana?

Team Dominican Republic entered the World Baseball Classic with one of the most star-studded rosters in the tournament, widely viewed as a true “super team.” Their starting lineup alone features players with combined MLB contracts worth $1,675,785,000, along with a staggering list of accolades: 20 All-Star selections, three Platinum Gloves, 15 Silver Sluggers, one batting title, and five Gold Gloves. When looking at the entire roster, the numbers become even more impressive. The full team combines for $2,613,268,600 in MLB contracts, 38 All-Star selections, three Platinum Gloves, 19 Silver Sluggers, one batting title, six Gold Gloves, one Cy Young Award, two Home Run Derby champions, and one Rookie of the Year.

The game

Israel started Ryan Prager, who entered the game with just 4.1 innings of A-ball pitching. Miraculously, he opened the game with a 1–2–3 inning against Fernando Tatis Jr., Ketel Marte, and Juan Soto. Unfortunately for Israel, that would be about the extent of their luck. In the second inning, Dominican hitters drew four consecutive walks, and Tatis made them pay by launching a grand slam to give the Dominican Republic a 5–0 lead.

The Dominican offense kept on going in the fourth inning when Oneil Cruz blasted a solo home run to extend the lead to 6–0. Israel managed to respond in the bottom half of the inning, when Spencer Horwitz hit a solo homer to cut the deficit to 6–1. However, any momentum Israel gained was gone. In the seventh inning, Tatis struck again with a two-run single that scored Cruz and Geraldo Perdomo, making the score 8–1.

The Dominican Republic continued adding insurance runs late in the game. In the eighth inning, Agustín Ramírez drove in a run with an RBI groundout, and in the ninth, Erik González added an RBI triple to make the score 10–1. At the very least, Israel could take some consolation in avoiding both a shutout and the mercy rule.

Overall, the Dominican fans were very passionate, but they were also very caring. After Spencer Horwitz hit a home run, the Dominican fans around us were high-fiving us. One even came with both an Israel and DR flag! We had many Dominicans come up and say how much they loved Israel and supported us. After the game, we had Dominicans asking to take pictures with us as a sign of solidarity.

Box Score

Final: Dominican Republic 10, Israel 1
Date: March 9, 2026
Venue: loanDepot park

Line Score
Dominican Republic — 0 5 0 1 0 0 2 1 1 — 10 runs, 7 hits, 0 errors
Israel                            — 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors

Israel Batters

Horwitz (DH): 4 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 3 K
Mendlinger (2B): 3 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
Lowengart (CF): 1 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
Bader (CF): 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K
Gelof (3B): 1 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
Schreck (RF): 2 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K
Carrigg (SS): 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
Rosengard (SS): 0 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
Stubbs, G (C): 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
Levenson (LF): 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
Mervis (1B): 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K
Halter (3B–2B): 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K

Totals — 29 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 13 K

Dominican Republic Batters

Tatis Jr. (RF): 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 6 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
Lake (RF): 1 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
Marte, K (2B): 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K
Rosario, A (3B): 1 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
Soto, J (LF): 4 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Machado, M (DH): 1 AB, 2 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 3 BB, 0 K
Caminero (3B): 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K
González, E (PR–2B): 1 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
Santana, C (1B): 4 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Cruz, O (CF): 2 AB, 3 R, 2 H, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K
Ramírez (C): 4 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K

Totals — 30 AB, 10 R, 7 H, 10 RBI, 11 BB, 4 K

Israel Pitchers

Prager (L, 0–1): 1.2 IP, 1 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
Weiss: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
Federman: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Jacobson: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 0 K
Fishman: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Leban: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Totals — 9.0 IP, 7 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 11 BB, 4 K, 2 HR

Dominican Republic Pitchers

Bello (W, 1–0): 5.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 1 HR
Soto, G: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Estévez: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Peralta, W: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Domínguez: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Totals — 9.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 13 K, 1 HR

Israel Game Notes

Batting
Double — Mendlinger (1, Estévez)
Home Runs — Horwitz (1, 4th inning off Bello)
Total Bases — Horwitz 4; Mendlinger 2
RBIs — Horwitz (1)
Runners left in scoring position with two outs — Stubbs, G (2)
Team RISP — 0-for-3
Team LOB — 2

Fielding
Double Plays — Carrigg–Mendlinger–Mervis (2)

Dominican Republic Game Notes

Batting
Doubles — Ramírez (1, Weiss); Cruz (1, Jacobson)
Triple — González, E (1, Fishman)
Home Runs —
Tatis Jr. (2nd inning off Prager, 3 on)
Cruz (4th inning off Weiss)
Total Bases — Cruz 6; González 3; Ramírez 2; Santana 1; Tatis Jr. 5
RBIs — Cruz (4); González (1); Perdomo (1); Ramírez (1); Tatis Jr. (6)
Two-out RBIs — Tatis Jr. (4); González; Perdomo
Runners left in scoring position with two outs — Santana; Lake (2); Machado
GIDP — Caminero (2)
Team RISP — 2-for-9
Team LOB — 5

Baserunning
Stolen Bases — Perdomo (1)
Caught Stealing — Ramírez; Tatis Jr.

Game Information

Umpires
HP — Quinn Wolcott
1B — Gabe Morales
2B — Michael Ulloa
3B — Serge Makouchetchev

Weather — 72°F, roof closed
Wind — None
First Pitch — 12:08 PM
Game Time — 2:47
Attendance — 28,728