MIAMI, FL– One of the major concerns about Team Puerto Rico, AKA “Team Rubio” entering the World Baseball Classic was the fact that the team was considered weak on their pitching. No one questioned the bullpen, that was strong and tight with both Díaz brothers, but the starting pitchers were considered weak with only two MLB players, Marcus Stroman and José Berríos. However, with excellent pitching yesterday from starter, José De León and a combination of three pitchers against Israel they did what has never been done in a WBC game. It does give some credibility to the Puerto Rican starting rotation.
(The following article first appeared in Puerto Rico’s daily newspaper, ENDI.com. We translated and edited for our English dominant readers)
World Classic: Puerto Rico’s perfect game will not remain in the historical records because it did not last nine innings
The Elias Sports Bureau will not count it as official when the 27 outs are not completed
Puerto Rico made history last night by achieving the first perfect game in the history of the World Baseball Classic, but the feat will not be made official in the Major League records.
As reported by ESPN and The Associated Press, the Elias Sports Bureau, the organization that records Major League Baseball statistics, will not count the Puerto Ricans’ victory as an official perfect game because it did not last nine innings. The Boricuas gave 24 outs instead of 27.
Puerto Rico defeated Israel, 10-0, in a match that ended in the bottom of the eighth inning due to tournament knockout rules. Under World Classic rules, a game must end when a team leads by 10 or more runs after the seventh inning. Puerto Rico scored the tenth run in the bottom of the eighth inning, ending the game.
José De León, who was the starter, combined with Yacksel Ríos, Edwin Diaz and Duane Underwood Jr. to shutout Israel, who couldn’t get a runner to first base.
“It’s perfect for us,” responded De León, who pitched 5.2 innings with 10 strikeouts.
Puerto Rico improved to 2-1 in Group D and will rest on Tuesday. Tomorrow the first phase will close against the Dominican Republic, in a match that looks decisive in the aspirations of qualifying for the quarterfinals.
