MIAMI – Ryan Dempster joked that he was excited to get the nod for Canada’s first game of the World Baseball Classic until he saw the lineup the Dominican Republic had waiting for him.
The 16-year major league veteran, who had not pitched competitively since 2013, had actually faced most of the hitters in that fearsome batting order. Going against them in this kind of setting, however, was a different experience.
In their 9-2 trouncing of Canada in Thursday’s opener of Pool C play in the WBC, the Dominicans unveiled not just their potent combination of an explosive offense and shut-down pitching, but a boisterous fan support unlike any seen or heard at major league stadiums.