Home run jacket comes out early, often as Dominican Republic crushes the Netherlands
The home run jacket and chains were hanging in the Dominican Republic dugout before first pitch Sunday, waiting for their first call.
Unfortunately for the Netherlands, it didn’t take long.
The Dominican Republic (2-0) powered its way past the Netherlands (1-2) 12-1 in seven innings at loanDepot Park, ending the game early when the 10-run mercy rule kicked in after Juan Soto’s two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh. With the roof closed and a Dominican Republic-heavy crowd of 32,324, the building felt ready for something loud, and the Dominican lineup delivered it.
Albert Pujols said pregame it was an honor to manage across the diamond from Andruw Jones, a friend he has known for more than two decades. Once the game started, the friendship took a back seat to competition.
“I’m going to prepare my team, he’s going to prepare his team in order to win today,” Pujols said.
The Dominican Republic made noise in the first inning. Fernando Tatis Jr. opened with a five-pitch walk and Ketel Marte followed with a six-pitch walk. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. worked the count full and drove a low changeup into left for an RBI single to score Tatis and make it 1-0.
The Netherlands had a chance to keep the inning from growing, but it didn’t. Manny Machado hit a ground ball that became a force at second, with Ozzie Albies flipping to Xander Bogaerts for the out. Bogaerts tried to finish the double play, but his throw sailed into the stands, bringing Marte home and pushing the lead to 2-0 on the error.
Andruw Jones had put it plainly before first pitch.
“We cannot make mistakes against the Dominican Republic because they’ll drive so many runs in if we make those mistakes,” Jones said. “So we have to avoid those mistakes.”
The Netherlands answered in the second with its best moment of the afternoon, and it came with the kind of pitch-to-pitch swing that only baseball can produce.
Didi Gregorius took the first pitch for a ball, then check-swung at a high fastball out of the zone. On the check swing, his bat slipped out of his hands and flew behind the plate. Gregorius stepped out, applied more pine tar, and on the very next pitch he tattooed a fastball for a line-drive solo home run to left, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
For a moment, it looked like the Netherlands might be able to hang around. That hope did not last.
In the third, Netherlands starter Arij Fransen walked Marte on four pitches that never threatened the zone. Jones went to his bullpen quickly, bringing in Eric Mendez, and Guerrero immediately made the move hurt. After swinging through a slider on the first pitch, Guerrero demolished a low, inside curveball into the concourse over the left-field seats for a two-run homer that made it 4-1.
Guerrero was greeted in the dugout by teammates ready with the celebration props. The jacket and chains made their first appearance of the day.
The inning still carried tension after that, especially when Junior Caminero was hit by a pitch and stayed down briefly before popping up, yelling and raising his arms toward the Dominican faithful behind the first-base dugout. The crowd matched him, rising to its feet.
The Netherlands escaped further damage on a heads-up play. Julio Rodríguez worked the count full and then lined out to center. Before the pitch, the Dominican runners took off on a double steal, and Cedanne Rafaela’s throw back in doubled off Machado to end the inning.
The fourth was quiet, but the plan the Dominican Republic had outlined pregame was already playing out. Pujols had said the bullpen was available and that Luis Severino was expected to pitch three or four innings depending on stress and game flow. Severino was at 60 pitches through four, and the Dominican Republic followed the script.
Albert Abreu replaced Severino to start the fifth. The Netherlands went down quickly, and the bottom of the inning became the moment the game broke open.
Soto led off with a five-pitch walk. Guerrero lined out to center, but the inning turned when Soto stole his first base of the tournament during Machado’s at-bat. Machado followed with a line-drive single up the middle, putting runners on the corners and setting the table for Caminero.
Caminero worked into a favorable count, then punished an inside sinker and pulled it over the left-field fence for a three-run homer to make it 7-1.
Once again, the jacket and chains came out.
Austin Wells made sure they stayed busy. After Rodríguez worked a seven-pitch walk, Wells got into a favorable count and jumped on a four-seamer from Wendell Floranus, lifting a towering fly ball into the second deck in right for a two-run homer that pushed the lead to 9-1.
Pujols said afterward he and Nelson Cruz wanted Wells because he fit what the Dominican Republic was building on and off the field.
“It’s awesome,” Pujols said. “I think that’s why we wanted him. Nelson and I, we pursued so much to bring him into our team because he fit really well. I’m glad that he was able to hit that home run today. But I think the way that he put himself with the players, with the pitchers and the starter, I think that’s something that there’s no secret, you know, how he handles things behind the plate. So I’m just glad that he’s on our side.”
The inning kept bleeding for the Dutch. Erik González reached on an infield hit. Tatis walked. A passed ball on Chadwick Tromp pushed González to third, and Marte followed with a sacrifice fly to left-center to score González and make it 10-1.
The Netherlands never recovered.
Jones tried to find outs with his bullpen, including Kenley Jansen’s first action of the tournament, but the Dominican Republic kept finding baserunners. It did not need another avalanche, only one final swing.
In the bottom of the seventh, Marte drew a two-out walk as the Dominican Republic crowd started the wave around the ballpark and grew louder with every pitch. Then Soto stepped up and crushed a slider over the center-field wall on the first pitch he saw, a two-run homer that pushed the lead to 12-1.
That made the Dominican Republic’s lead 11 runs after seven innings, which triggered the 10-run mercy rule and ended the game. Teammates dumped a Gatorade cooler on Soto during his on-field postgame interview.
Afterward, Guerrero explained what the jacket represents inside the dugout.
“We were trying to find something to celebrate the home run with,” Guerrero said. “And I think the jacket is unique for us. And if you see the back, it’s got all the names. So to me, it’s like all together with the jacket.”
Pujols framed the day as part of a bigger responsibility for a group that expects to contend deep into March.
“We didn’t create this team overnight,” Pujols said. “Not only do we have a responsibility for ourselves but for our country too.”
This story was originally published March 8, 2026 at 4:23 PM.
