Pujols on DR's unceremonious exit: 'I don't want to focus on the last pitch'

MIAMI -- It was a team seemingly on course with destiny: 13 years after its lone World Baseball Classic title, the Dominican Republic had stormed through its first five games, battering any opponent that stood in its way. It was leading the tournament in home runs, runs scored and pitching ERA. Everything was lining up perfectly for the D.R.’s super-powered lineup to power past the juggernaut Team USA on Sunday night.

But in the bottom of the ninth inning of the semifinals, with the tying run on third base and USA closer Mason Miller on the mound, shortstop Geraldo Perdomo was called out on strikes to end the game. The pitch appeared to be below the strike zone, but for Dominican Republic manager Albert Pujols, it didn't matter: The game didn't come down to one single called strike.

"I don’t want to focus on the last pitch. ... I’m not going to criticize any of that," Pujols said after the 2-1 loss to the United States. "It wasn’t meant to be."

Pujols may have a point. After Junior Caminero's second-inning home run set the team record for most homers in tournament history with 15, the D.R. bats largely went silent. In the final three innings, when the team was pushing for the tying run, its superstar sluggers looked like they were pressing for one big swing, striking out six times in the final three frames. They struck out only twice in the first six innings.

The team also failed to come through with runners on base, going 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and leaving eight runners stranded. That included catcher Austin Wells, who was left standing on third base after failing to score on Perdomo's line-drive single to left-center in the seventh inning.

The question came up after the game as to why Wells wasn't lifted for a pinch-runner -- perhaps Oneil Cruz, who is one of the league's faster runners and who was later used to pinch-hit for the Yankees catcher in the ninth inning?

Pujols said that he wasn't ready to lose his starting catcher at that juncture in the game. The Dominican Republic had only one other backstop on the roster, 24-year-old Agustín Ramírez, and no real contingency plan after that.

Regardless of the decision, not many teams will win games when scoring just one run, and the D.R. pitchers did an admirable job holding the USA to just two solo homers by Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony (Julio Rodríguez helped with that, bringing back what looked like it would have been an Aaron Judge solo shot).

For now, the Dominican Republic is left wondering what might have been as it departs this World Baseball Classic. The United States will play Monday's winner of Venezuela vs. Italy in the championship on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET.