Israel pitcher Jacob Steinmetz had an impressive showing against the Dominican Republic in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Steinmetz struck out Manny Machado, Jeremy Pena and Gary Sanchez Tuesday night.
Steinmetz surrendered one run and four baserunners in 1.2 innings. The Israel pitcher was only allowed to get five outs in his start, but he made them all count. Manny Machado and Jeremy Pena highlight a Dominican Republic lineup that's considered to be the best in the World Baseball Classic.
19-year-old Jacob Steinmetz strikes out Manny Machado 🇮🇱🔥
📺: WBC on FS1 pic.twitter.com/uQLK2TwvpF
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 14, 2023
Machado was the 2022 NL MVP runner-up. Pena won the 2022 World Series MVP award as a rookie. Juan Soto, Rafael Devers and Julio Rodriguez are also in the vaunted Dominican Republic lineup.
Considering he's just 19 years old, Tuesday's appearance in the World Baseball Classic is probably the highlight of Steinmetz's professional career, thus far. Steinmetz is in the Arizona Diamondbacks minor-league system. The Diamondbacks drafted him with the No. 77 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft.
There was plenty of pressure on Steinmetz before Tuesday's start. It's a virtual must-win game for both Israel and the Dominican Republic. The two teams have a 1-1 record in the World Baseball Classic. Israel and the Dominican Republic trail Puerto Rico (2-1) and Venezuela (3-0) in the Pool D standings.
Each team in Pool D plays four games. The top two teams in the pool advance to the WBC quarterfinals.
After losing to Venezuela in their WBC opener, the Dominican Republic bounced back with a 6-1 win over Nicaragua Monday. Machado went 2-5 with a home run in the win.
Israel beat Nicaragua 3-1 in its WBC opener. Puerto Rico shut out Israel 10-0 Monday with a perfect game, and the mercy rule ended the contest.
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