Dean Kremer led a brilliant performance by Israeli pitchers, who combined for a historic two-hit, 5-0 shutout of nemesis Nicaragua in a must-win World Baseball Classic game late Sunday night in Miami.
It was the first shutout ever recorded by Team Israel in World Baseball Classic play, and the victory guaranteed Israel a higher finish than Nicaragua in the standings, securing a place in the next WBC in 2029.
Kremer showed complete command of the strike zone, hitting his spots, changing speeds, and keeping Nicaragua’s hitters off balance throughout his outing. However, as he neared his pitch count limit of 65, Kremer allowed the first two hitters to reach in the fifth inning before recording a gutsy strikeout to end his outing.
Josh Mallitz came in and yielded a walk to load the bases, sending the partisan Latino crowd into a deafening frenzy in anticipation of a Nicaraguan comeback. The noise got even louder under the closed roof as Mallitz fell behind 3-0 on the next batter.
But Mallitz grittily silenced the crowd and shut down the threat by inducing University of Miami graduate Freddy Zamora to ground a two-hopper to third baseman Jake Gelof, who stepped on the bag and fired a strike to first for an inning-ending, momentum-shifting double play.
In their half of the inning, Israeli hitters picked up where their defense left off, stringing together key hits as Harrison Bader, Zach Levenson, and Cole Carrigg delivered clutch RBI singles, giving Israel some breathing room.
Even then, a 5-0 lead hardly felt comfortable, but relievers Mallitz, Matt Bowman, Max Lazar, and Tommy Kahnle slammed the door, allowing no hits the rest of the way.
Following the game, Kremer analyzed his performance and credited catcher CJ Stubbs and manager Brad Ausmus for helping craft an effective game plan.
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Kremer, who was born to Sabra parents and grew up in the United States, has proudly represented Israel internationally since youth ball. He showed a rare burst of emotion after the game-changing double play that rescued him from the bases-loaded jam.
“I don’t usually get super hyped,” Kremer said with a smile when reminded of his reaction.
When asked what it meant to play in his third World Baseball Classic, especially during such trying moments for the country, Kremer responded: “Representing Israel is one of the greatest sources of pride I have known in baseball. We are a resilient people and have to stay strong.”
Another teammate who reflected on the victory was the game’s undisputed offensive star, Noah Mendlinger. The St. Louis Cardinals’ prospect reached base four times, going 3-for-3 with a walk. He quickly credited the coaching staff for creating a winning game plan.
Mendlinger, who also played in the 2023 WBC, was then asked about building upon this experience toward making aliyah and looking ahead to a possible 2028 Olympic campaign representing the country as an Israeli citizen. He enthusiastically revealed that he has been thinking about it for quite a while.
Ausmus summarized his team’s victory by also crediting his staff for overcoming many unknowns.
“It was like a high school game, where you don’t know much about the opponent beforehand and just go out and play your best,” he said.
Ironically, that will not be the problem next time out. Barely 14 hours after recording the final out against Nicaragua, Israel took the field late Monday against the third-ranked Dominican Republic, whose star-studded lineup includes Manny Machado, Juan Soto, and Fernando Tatis Jr.
The Israeli roster, largely made up of Jewish-American players, evened its record at 1-1 after the first two games of the four-game pool stage, following an 11-3 loss to Venezuela in the tournament opener. Following the duel with the Dominicans, the blue-and-white faces off against the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Just three days ago, Ausmus reflected that while on paper the Dominican Republic is superior, “If we were to play them 10 times, we should be able to beat them once or twice. We’re going to try to catch them on one of these days.”
Monday was not to be the day. While the Israelis kept things tight over the first inning, the Dominicans then found their groove and dropped Israel’s record to 1-2 with a 10-1 victory.
Despite the loss, Israel remains confident it can bounce back in its fourth and final group game on Tuesday against the Dutch.