Less than a day after beating the United States in an elimination game, Puerto Rico will be back on the diamond Saturday afternoon against the Dominican Republic at Marlins Park in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
Left-hander Wandy Rodriguez will get the ball for the Dominican Republic, and Orlando Roman is the probable starter for Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico's game against the United States ended less than 12 hours ago. Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic had Friday off. Let's see how Puerto Rico handles a day game after a night game.
On paper, the Dominican Republic has the edge. Wandy Rodriguez has been overlooked his entire career, but not he gets a chance to shine in the spotlight. The southpaw holds the edge over Orlando Roman in the pitching matchup.
After building up a 4-0 lead midway through Friday night's game, Puerto Rico had to hold off a late rally by Team USA (check out Ron Juckett of Bleacher Report for a summary of that game). Puerto Rico's bullpen was relied on heavily, and five different relievers entered the game. That could play a role if the game is close late.
The Dominican Republic is 5-0 in the WBC for a reason. They have solid pitching and a great lineup. Now that they have had a day to rest, they could come out ready to play. Puerto Rico is coming off a big win and has won two straight elimination games (today's game is not an elimination game) to get to this point. Fatigue could show up in the game.
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