MIAMI — When Ryan Dempster decided to come out of retirement to pitch in the World Baseball Classic, he struggled at first to reach 80 mph with his fastball.
He did better in Thursday's WBC opener with Canada, topping out at 91. But against the Dominican Republic, that wasn't enough.
Pitching for the first time since the 2013 World Series with the Boston Red Sox, Dempster allowed four runs in two innings, and Canada lost 9-2 to the defending WBC champions.
Other than the defeat, the 39-year-old right-hander wasn't sure what kind of toll the game took on him.