Jurickson Profar hits a two-run home run in the bottom of the 1st to give Netherlands an early 2-0 lead
By Joe Trezza
(MLB.com)
SOUTH KOREA--If you were to poll the globe prior to the World Baseball Classic, Korea would have been one of the last countries many would've expected to start the tournament with two losses. But that's exactly the position the Pool A host country and former favorite finds itself on Tuesday, after a 5-0 defeat at the hands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in front of a stunned crowd at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
Jurickson Profar and Randolph Obuder launched two-run homers and Andrelton Simmons drove in a run and scored another in support of five pitchers for a Dutch team looking to advance out of pool play for the third consecutive World Baseball Classic. Now nearly a decade removed from its global coming out party in 2009, the Netherlands entered the tournament a trendy favorite after finishing fourth overall in 2013.
Which is why Tuesday's matchup was billed as a powerhouse matchup: An early-tournament treat between two teams with legitimate championship chances. Korea's, instead, are in grave danger now after two losses in two days on its home soil. Korea lost to Classic rookie Israel in the tournament opener. The top two teams will advance to the second round.
Looking to start their tournament strong, the Netherlands handed the ball to former Major League starter Rick van den Hurk, who spent the past two seasons pitching in Japan. Van den Hurk allowed three hits and walked two over four shutout innings. Diegomar Markwell, Shairon Martis, Tom Stuifbergen and Leok van Mil combined to limit Korea to just three scattered hits over the final five frames.
Korea, with top-three finishes in the first two World Baseball Classics but didn't advance out of pool play in 2013, scored one run over its first two games, a span of 19 innings.
