In his first World Baseball Classic, San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. hit his first homer of the classic, which would be the first of a 10-run afternoon for the Dominican Republic in their win over Israel to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals round, in which seeding for that will be decided on Wednesday against Venezuela.

In the top of the second inning, with the bases loaded, Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo worked a walk, allowing Padres teammate Manny Machado to score and give the Dominican Republic a 1-0 lead. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat with a 1-2 count, Tatis took Israel starter Ryan Prager 400 feet deep to left field, making it a 5-0 game.

Fernando Tatis Jr. recorded six RBIs, tying Adrian Gonzalez (3/9/09) for the second-most in a single World Baseball Classic game, trailing only Ken Griffey Jr., who drove in seven runs on 3/10/06.

Following Oneil Cruz‘s home run, his second of the tournament, the Dominican Republic has hit nine home runs through three games, scoring a total of 34 runs. Tatis has slashed .500/.692/.875/.1.567 in those three games, with one home run and six RBI. His Padres teammate Manny Machado, who is the captain of the team, is slashing .429/.714/.571/.1.285.

“It’s one of the best lineups in the world,” is what Israel manager Brad Ausmus said following the game. “That lineup presents a lot of challenges, and even when they are resting some of their guys, the guys that aren’t resting are pretty darn good, so it’s going to be a challenge for every other team.”

The Dominican Republic will get an off-day on Tuesday before taking the field for the most hyped up game of the World Baseball Classic, which will be the clash between Venezuela and the Dominican Republic on Wednesday at 8:00 pm. Sandy Alcantara will take the mound for the DR, but no starter has been announced for Venezuela.

Kevin Barral is on-site in Miami covering the World Baseball Classic for DiamondCentric.

Think you could write an article like this one? We’re looking for additional contributors, and we pay for all our content! Please click here, fill out the form, and someone will reply with more information.