Puerto Rico over The Netherlands. The Dutch should be embarrassed by this loss, and I mean that in a good way. They are past 'morale victories and playing them close'. The Dutch could have and, I'll say, should have won this game. They've done pretty much everything right, except hit the ball. 4 runs in 2 games, and 2 of them scored on a throwing error? That's not going to cut it. Any kind of offense at all, and they would have won the game. If it's 2-0 or 3-0 going into the bottom of the 8th, it changes the dynamics of everything. The Dutch had every chance to win this game and should have. They didn't and they should be embarrassed. And that's a good thing.
Next up: Dominican Republic vs The Netherlands. This is a must-win game for both teams, and not just because of the elimination factor. If the Dominicans lose and get eliminated in the first round, especially losing twice to the Dutch, they will be embarrassed on the biggest stage in the world for international baseball.
If the Dutch lose, they will get no credit for how well they played. Instead of people talking about how good baseball is in Europe, it will just be a Georgetown/Villanova upset game. Which isn't fair, because the Dutch are that good.
Anyhow, I'm sticking with the Dutch. They should be 2-0 already, and still haven't hit. I'll bet we see some changes in the lineup and things are different in the next game. Is Andruw Jones available? Maybe they should activate Bam-Bam? But I still think they'll win.
Actual record: 12 - 5
Predicted record: 10 - 4 - 3
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