SARASOTA (DA) — The Kingdom of the Netherlands did all of its damage early Tuesday, scoring eight runs in the first three innings and holding off the Baltimore Orioles for an 8-5 victory.
Ray-Patrick Didder set the tone with a solo home run in the first, and the Dutch side kept coming. Ceddanne Rafaela delivered the biggest blow in the second with a three-run homer, and Ozzie Albies followed later in the inning with a solo shot as the Netherlands turned a one-run deficit into a 5-2 lead.
The Netherlands added three more runs in the third to take full control. Hendrik Clementina came home on a Sharlon Schoop single, and Rafaela then lined a two-run double that scored Schoop and Didder to make it 8-2.
Baltimore answered early when Pete Alonso launched a two-run homer in the first, then chipped away later on Jeremiah Jackson’s solo homer in the fifth and José Barrero’s two-run single in the sixth.
That was as close as the Orioles got.
Didder finished with a home run and two doubles, while Rafaela drove in five runs. The Netherlands also got run-scoring production from Schoop and a key early hit from Xander Bogaerts during the first-inning rally.
The Netherlands finished with 13 hits, while Baltimore had seven.
Ryjeteri Merite earned the win, Trevor Rogers took the loss, and Jacob Cravey picked up the save as the Netherlands closed out the final three innings without allowing another run.
The game lasted 2 hours, 52 minutes and drew an attendance of 3,380.