WBC Pool D Recap: Dominican Republic, Venezuela Advance

Team Dominican Republic First-Round Recap

• Beat Nicaragua (12-3)
• Beat the Netherlands (12-1)
• Beat Israel (10-1)
• Beat Venezuela (7-5)

Entering Pool D, the Dominican Republic was the clear favorite on paper. And in this case, it was the favorite for a reason. With three blowouts and one close win against a strong Venezuela team, the D.R. looks like it could win the whole thing.

Team D.R’s offense was the major show throughout pool play, with six members of its starting lineup posting an OPS north of 1.000. Pair this with a pitching staff that held teams to a sub-3.00 ERA, and this team dominated Pool D play.

After failing to escape the first round in 2023, the Dominican Republic has done a complete 180 this time around. As the quarterfinals are set to begin Friday, the D.R. will continue to chase its first title since 2013.

Standout Performers

• Fernando Tatis Jr. (RF): 6-for-13, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 5 BB, 1.534 OPS
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B): 6-for-12, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 1.583 OPS
• Juan Soto (LF): 5-for-15, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1.233 OPS

Team Venezuela First-Round Recap

• Beat the Netherlands (6-2)
• Beat Israel (11-3)
• Beat Nicaragua (4-0)
• Lost to the Dominican Republic (7-5)

After a perfect 4-0 performance in pool play last season, Venezuela began its 2026 campaign with much of the same. The major tone-setting game was an opening victory against the Netherlands, which proved to be a team effort. Four pitchers threw at least one scoreless inning, and eight of nine starters recorded a hit.

The game against Israel showed the offensive firepower of this Venezuelan team. Five different hitters recorded an RBI, with Arráez recording five of them and a pair of homers. Then, the Nicaragua game proved the well-roundedness of the roster yet again, with seven pitchers contributing to the nine-inning shutout.

Despite a loss to the Dominican Republic, Venezuela made it very close with one of the most stacked rosters in WBC history. Manager Omar López and company have shown that this team can compete with the best. The question becomes: will it?

Standout Performers

• Luis Arráez (2B): 7-for-14, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 1.743 OPS
• Ronald Acuña Jr. (RF): 4-for-13, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 6 BB, 1.141 OPS
• José Buttó (P): 3 G, 4 IP, 0 ER, 1 K

Team Israel First-Round Recap

• Lost to Venezuela (11-3)
• Beat Nicaragua (5-0)
• Lost to the Dominican Republic (10-1)
• Beat the Netherlands (6-2)

While this wasn’t the underdog tale of 2017, Israel did improve by one win over its last WBC performance. The team kicked things off with a brutal loss to a buzzsaw in Venezuela. It’s always a tough start when a team’s pitching staff makes Luis Arraez look like the second coming of Hank Aaron.

Team Israel bounced back with a shutout of Nicaragua, thanks to Dean Kremer and company. This enthusiasm was short-lived, however, after a walloping at the hands of the D.R. While the pitching staff did quiet the noise for a while after an explosive second inning, the hole was simply too deep to escape.

By the end of pool play, Team Israel did end on a high note. In a true bullpen game, eight Israeli pitchers held the Netherlands to just two runs. Combine that with solid closing performances from the lineup’s MLB mainstays, and Team Israel leaves the WBC at a respectable 2-2.

Standout Performers

• Noah Mendlinger (RF): 5-for-14, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 1.117 OPS
• RJ Schreck (CF): 2-for-11, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 BB, .855 OPS
• Dean Kremer (P): 1 GS, 4.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 4 K

Team Netherlands First-Round Recap

• Lost to Venezuela (6-2)
• Beat Nicaragua (4-3)
• Lost to the Dominican Republic (12-1)
• Lost to Israel (6-2)

The Netherlands is a perennial WBC powerhouse, but Father Time proved to be too much for this aging team. While the Netherlands certainly had a chance of making the quarterfinals, it was bound to be an uphill battle, and the opening loss to Venezuela did not set a positive tone.

From there, a win against Nicaragua proved too close for comfort, with a two-out, three-run home run from Ozzie Albies saving a certain defeat. That was the only win the Netherlands would receive.

First, they lost in just seven innings to the D.R. with the only bright spot being a Didi Gregorius homer off of Luis Severino in the second inning. In the Netherlands’ final contest, it took a two-run lead over Team Israel in the first and held onto it for five innings. But, in the sixth, Israel exploded for five runs and didn’t look back, sealing the Dutch into a 1-3 fate.

Standout Performers

• Druw Jones (RF): 4-for-10, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 1.063 OPS
• Xander Bogaerts (SS): 5-for-15, 1 RBI, 1 SB, .812 OPS
• Ozzie Albies (2B): 3-for-15, 1 HR, 4 RBI

Team Nicaragua First-Round Recap

• Lost to the Dominican Republic (12-3)
• Lost to the Netherlands (4-3)
• Lost to Israel (5-0)
• Lost to Venezuela (4-0)

It proved to be another rough season for Team Nicaragua. After qualifying for the first time in 2023 and finishing 0-4, Nicaragua once again failed to get its first victory in a WBC game.

The team had closer contests with Israel, Venezuela, and the D.R. in 2023, but this season proved to be a steeper level of competition. However, coming one out away from a victory against the Netherlands is a huge step forward.

This was a building year for Team Nicaragua, and they proved that baseball is on the rise. With legendary manager Dusty Baker at the helm and Mark Vientos joining the team, there is plenty to look forward to should Nicaragua make it back to the WBC again.

Standout Performers

• Jeter Downs (2B): 3-for-9, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1.178 OPS
• Ismael Munguia (CF): 6-for-14, 1 RBI, .958 OPS
• Erasmo Ramirez (P): 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 K