Koji Watanabe
The Dominicans and the Dutch duke it out Monday night to determine who will face Puerto Rico in the finals on Tuesday.
Honkbal hits the West Coast on Monday night. The Netherlands takes on the Dominican Republic at 9:00 p.m. ET to try to book its ticket into the WBC's final game.
The Dutch team enters the final round fully rested and ready to take the enemy with a re-stocked roster. Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen joins the Netherlands for the finals, along with baseball's top prospect, Jurickson Profar.
Jansen will help shore up the back end of the bullpen, while the addition of Profar adds yet another dimension to a young, powerful middle infield that includes Andrelton Simmons, Xander Bogaerts, and Jonathan Schoop. At this point, it may be possible the team has too many young shortstops. Perhaps they'll just go with an all-shortstop infield?
More: Full WBC 2013 Coverage
Robinson Cano -- the MVP of both Rounds 1 & 2 -- and the rest of the Dominican Republic's star-studded lineup will do their best to make sure history doesn't repeat itself Monday night.The Netherlands sent the Dominicans home early in the 2009 WBC -- defeating them twice in the first round. With retribution likely on the Dominican club's mind, the Netherlands has a very tough task ahead of it. The DR is the only team still undefeated in the tournament -- at 6-0 -- and it has dispatched its foes this time around by a combined score of 29-13.
Edinson Volquez will take the hill for the Dominicans for the third time in the tournament. The Padres right-hander didn't have his best stuff his last time out, giving up four runs in 4⅓ against Italy, but he may have better luck in pitcher-friendly AT&T Park. Southpaw Diegomar Markwell will get the start for the Netherlands.
Netherlands vs. Dominican Republic: Monday, 6:00 p.m. local, 9:00 p.m. ET
Venue: AT&T Park, San Francisco, California
TV: MLB Network (U.S.), ESPN Deportes (U.S.)
Starting Pitchers: LHP Diegomar Markwell vs. RHP Edinson Volquez
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• Minor League Ball's top 150 prospects for 2013
• The World Baseball Classic and the apathy myth
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