The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Netherlands shifts into WBC semifinals
Infielder-rich team will play Puerto Rico in L.A. on Monday.
The semifinal round of the World Baseball Classic is going Dutch, thanks to a lot of creative shifting by Team Netherlands.
Stocked with star infielders Xander Bogaerts, Andrelton Simmons, Didi Gregorius, Jonathan Schoop and Jurickson Profar, manager Hensley Meulens has found a way to get all of them in the lineup.
Meulens, a former big leaguer and now hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants, uses one each at second base, shortstop and third base. One serves as designated hitter — Simmons was in that role Saturday for an exhibition against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Scottsdale — and Profar has moved to center field.
“Xander says, ‘I know I’m one of the better shortstops in the American League, but I’m playing third for your team,’” Meulens said of the Red Sox star.
The Netherlands, which went 2-1 the previous round, will face Puerto Rico on Monday in Los Angeles. Two-time champion Japan will play Tuesday’s semifinal against the winner of Saturday night’s Team USA-Dominican Republic game.
Puerto Rico clinched its spot with a 6-5 victory over the United States on Friday night in San Diego and completed a 3-0 second round with a 13-2 victory Saturday over Venezuela.
Puerto Rico took a 4-0 lead in the first inning Friday on six consecutive singles and survived a two-run triple from Brandon Crawford in the ninth. Edwin Diaz struck out Josh Harrison to end the game with Crawford standing on third.
“The first inning was just incredible,” said Carlos Beltran, who had one of the hits. “It gave us so much confidence for the rest of the game.”
“They are a very good team and they are doing a lot of things right,” U.S. manager Jim Leyland said.
The Netherlands team is a blend of Dutch-born players and natives of Curacao and Aruba. Each group took a photo with teammates from the same place, but the players’ ability to speak multiple languages unites everyone.
The team is the most unlikely of the semifinalists.
“Some people (in the Netherlands) don’t even know we’re playing in this tournament,” Meulens said. “It’s not very popular, unlike on the islands. That’s all they breathe down there.”
Reds: Right-hander Bronson Arroyo was hit in the face by catcher Devin Mesoraco’s throw on a stolen base attempt and exited Saturday’s game against Texas. Arroyo was checked by a trainer, went to another field and threw for a while. He said he didn’t expect to miss a start.
Cardinals: First baseman Matt Adams, who lost 30 pounds in the offseason and weighs 240, worked out Saturday with the outfielders. “I feel like the first step is way quicker than what it used to be — even at first base,” Adams said. “I feel like it was something that I needed to do and I’m glad I did it so ... more opportunities would come about instead of just sticking with one position.”
Russell Westbrook had 28 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists to help Oklahoma City win its fifth straight — the longest current streak in the NBA. Georgios Papagiannis had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Sacramento, which had a two-game winning streak snapped.
Damian Lillard scored 27 points, and Portland took control with a dominant opening quarter. C.J. McCollum had 22 points and Allen Crabbe added 16 for Portland, which took a 17-3 lead and never trailed.
Cody Zeller scored 19 points, and Charlotte snapped a three-game losing streak. Kemba Walker had eight of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. Charlotte entered the night 4½ games back of Miami for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.
Blake Griffin scored 23 points as Los Angeles capitalized on Cleveland resting its top three players. LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving sat out for the Cavaliers, and the Clippers snapped a three-game losing streak. Late Late Late Late Evan Turner returned Saturday against Atlanta after missing 14 games with a broken right hand. Turner has not played since he was hurt at Dallas on Feb. 7. Forward Paul Millsap was held out of Saturday’s loss to Portland with left knee tightness. Tyreke Evans did not play Saturday due to what the team called a sore left ankle. Aaron Afflalo and Ben McLemore also were out for personal reasons.