Spanish
Miami. – The manager of the Dominican Republic Baseball Team, Albert Pujols, valued the work of pitcher Brayan Bello and the offensive consistency of the team after the resounding 10-1 victory over the Israel Baseball Team in the World Baseball Classic.
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Pujols explained that the initial plan was for Bello to pitch four innings, but decided to extend his performance because the pitcher felt strong on the mound. "We left him in one more inning because he had more than 40 pitches in the fourth inning and we wanted four innings from him, but he felt very good and told me he wanted to pitch five innings. He did a tremendous job and kept the Israeli hitters off balance," said the Dominican manager. The strategist also referred to the home run that allowed the Dominican right-hander, pointing out that the pitcher himself acknowledged that he was forced to throw a fastball down the middle of the plate after falling behind in the count. "He felt bad about that home run himself, but I told him to take it as a learning moment. They are experiences that will help him in the future because he is going to be very successful in the Major Leagues," he added. Bello pitched five solid innings in the game, allowing only one run and contributing to the Dominican victory that secured the pass to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Pujols also highlighted the team's structure and the joint work of the coaching staff to form a balanced roster that would allow all needs to be covered during the competition. "Our idea was to build a team that could cover every area during the tournament and give all the guys the opportunity to participate," he stated. Regarding the Dominican offense, which has scored ten or more runs in three consecutive games, the manager assured that this was the expected performance of a team with so much talent. "When you look at the team we have, that's the offense everyone expected. But the credit goes to the players; they didn't come here to relax, they came to compete and win," he indicated. The leader added that, although the team has already managed to advance to the next round, the main objective remains to win the World Baseball Classic championship. "This is just a step to the second round. Our mission is to win the tournament," he concluded.
