This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
San Francisco • This time, the Dominicans didn't let the Netherlands interfere with their road to the World Baseball Classic championship.
Late lineup addition Moises Sierra hit a tying RBI double in the fifth, Jose Reyes added a go-ahead single two batters later and the Dominican Republic reached the WBC final with a 4-1 win against the Netherlands on Monday night.
Edwin Encarnacion had an RBI single as the undefeated Dominicans survived a rocky start from winner Edinson Volquez, who benefited from Sierra's catch over the left-field wall in foul territory to end a first-inning threat.
Now, it's Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico, Take Two, for the title. The teams will play Tuesday at AT&T Park just three days after the Dominicans (7-0) won Saturday in Miami before each club flew West.
One of these proud island nations will get to throw quite a party as each team guns for its first WBC championship. Japan won the first two titles, in 2006 and 2009.
The Dominicans were still fuming four years after the Netherlands beat them twice in the 2009 WBC's first round for a stunning early exit. They were a pair of one-run games played in San Juan, Puerto Rico.