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Luis Arraez makes history in monster game for Team Venezuela
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- Luis Arraez makes history in monster game for Team Venezuela
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World Baseball Classic action continued on Saturday, as the Venezuela national baseball team defeated the Israel national baseball team 11-3 in a Group D matchup at loanDepot Park in Miami. The win improved Venezuela to 2-0 in the pool and placed them at the top of the group after also defeating the Netherlands 6-2 in their opener.
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Batting third and guarding first base, Luis Arraez put on a historic performance , going 4-for-5 with two home runs, two doubles, five RBIs, and four runs scored. The three-time batting champion recorded the second multi-home-run game of his WBC career, making him the first player in tournament history to have more than one multi-homer game. Both of those performances came in Miami.
Moreover, the 28-year-old's only multi-home-run game in Major League Baseball also came at the same ballpark. His four career WBC home runs now rank second in Venezuela's tournament history, behind only Miguel Cabrera , who has six.
Venezuela built an immediate lead in the first inning against Israel starter Ben Simon. Ronald Acuna Jr. walked to open the frame, Arraez connected for an RBI double, and Salvador Perez followed with an RBI single. Eugenio Suarez then hit a two-run home run to end a four-run inning and chase Simon after just one-third of an inning.
From the very first inning, Venezuela starter Enmanuel De Jesus was untouchable, getting the first 14 batters out in order. He went five innings of one-run baseball and struck out eight, setting a new WBC single-game strikeout record.
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Israel's first run came in the fifth inning when Garrett Stubbs tripled and scored on an RBI infield single by Matt Mervis . Arraez answered immediately with a solo home run in the bottom half.
Venezuela broke the game open in the sixth. Maikel Garcia hit a two-run single before Arraez crushed a three-run homer to extend the lead to 10–2. Israel managed solo home runs from R.J. Schreck in the sixth and Harrison Bader in the ninth, but the deficit remained too large.
Suarez went deep with a homer and two RBIs among his two hits, while Tovar kept the momentum going with three hits of his own. Through Venezuela's first two games, Arraez has amassed five hits and seven RBIs.
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