Israel Stumbles After Dream Run In Baseball Classic
Image by Getty Images
Didi Gregorius homered and drove in five runs as the Netherlands crushed Israel 12-2 in Tokyo to move closer to a semi-final spot.
The win left the Netherlands with a 1-1 record in second-round play, behind Pool E leaders Japan, who won their opening game.
The loss was the first of the tournament for Israel, who dipped to 1-1 and play Japan in their Pool E finale while the Netherlands take on winless Cuba.
Only the top two teams in the pool advance.
Jair Jurrjens, who pitched in Major League Baseball for eight seasons, gave the Netherlands six solid innings of work, limiting Israel to one run on five hits.
Dutch bats, meanwhile, pounded Israel pitching for 15 hits with Andrelton Simmons, Wladimir Balentien and Yurendell de Caster each collecting three.
But it was Gregorius who did much of the damage, the New York Yankees shortstop keying a four-run fourth inning with a three-run blast into the Tokyo Dome’s right field seats.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
