Angel Valdes | March 8, 2023
The ninth team from Panama unleashed a 14-hit offensive to achieve a 12-run victory over Chinese Taipei in their debut in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and, incidentally, achieve the first victory in their history in this type of competition.
Panama, which had already participated in the 2006 and 2009 World Classics, had a 0-5 record in its participations until today, March 8, when it achieved its first victory.
Jonathan Araúz went 2-for-6 with three RBIs and one run scored; Erasmo Caballero 3-1 with 2 RBIs and one scored; Jhadiel Santamaría went 2 for 3 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored, while Luis Castillo, José Caballero, Christian Bethancourt and Rubén Tejada each drove in a run.
The winning pitcher was Randall Delgado who worked 2.2 innings, got 5 hits, allowed 1 run and struck out 3.
Panama (1-0) meets the Netherlands (1-0) today, Wednesday, March 8 at 11 p.m., in their second match in this World Classic.