Eddie Rosario clubbed a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the 11th inning as Puerto Rico punched their ticket to the WBC final for the second straight year with a marathon 4-3 win over the Netherlands on Monday. Rosario's blast brought infielder Carlos Correa home after he had advanced to third on an earlier sacrifice fly by catcher Yadier Molina in the semi-final at Dodger Stadium.
"Although we've been pretty much overpowering everybody throughout the series, today we played very good fundamental baseball and that is what got us the win," said Puerto Rico manager Edwin Rodriguez.
What started out as a first-inning slugfest turned into a battle of the bullpens in the first game of the championship round of the 16-team elite international baseball tournament. Undefeated Puerto Rico will face the winner of the other semi-final between the United States and Japan in the championship game on Wednesday, also at Dodger Stadium.
After a burst of four runs from both sides to start the four-hour, 19-minute contest, the relief pitchers took over in the middle innings, setting the stage for Puerto Rico to win it in the bottom of the 11th.
Puerto Rico has been dominating the tournament with a ferocious offense, timely hitting and dependable pitching. On Monday they helped their cause with some clutch defensive plays and aggressive base running.
The victory improves Puerto Rico's perfect record to 7-0 as they seek redemption after finishing runner-up to the Dominican Republic in 2013.
Rodriguez called it the best game of the tournament.
"Defense and execution won the game today," he said. "It was very important for us to be able to bring the fundamentals. "We turned I think three or four double plays.