Juan Soto must frequent the ocean.
During Friday’s 10-0 win for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinal matchup over Korea, Soto perfectly executed a swim move maneuver to slide past the catcher at home plate.
In the third inning, D.R. teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. blasted a ball in the right-center gap, with Soto attempting to score from first base, prompting a tight play at the plate.
Despite the ball easily beating Soto at home, the Mets star was able to dodge catcher Dong Won Park’s tag attempt and was ruled safe at the plate, giving the D.R. their fourth run of the night.
Guerrero had an impressive slide of his own earlier in Friday’s game while scoring from first off a double to left field hit by infielder Junior Caminero in the second inning.
With the play seemingly close at home, rather than sliding, the first baseman leaped in the air and dove into home plate, evading the tag and scoring the first run of the game.
The winner of Friday’s game will be set to face off against the winner of Team USA and Canada for the semifinals on Sunday.
The Dominican Republic, which is searching for its second WBC title, has had some electric performances so far in this year’s tournament, with many noting the players’ intense energy during pool play.
Outfielder Fernando Tatís Jr. said that despite the energy from all his teammates, he feels “the loudest” on the team.
“We have really good candidates on our team,” Tatís said, according to ESPN, “but I feel the loudest, and the one that people are enjoying more because it’s brand-new definitely has to be Junior Caminero.”
Soto said he believes his team’s success stems from everyone having fun and not worrying about anything.
“I think that’s everything, having fun out there,” Soto said. “Definitely we respect the game, too. But we have to have fun. I think that’s when the best of you comes out — when you have fun out there.
“When you don’t worry about anything else but having fun, I think it’s one of the things that changes everything for every single player.”
