WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL D - NICARAGUA VS NETHERLANDS

March 7, 2026

Andruw Jones

LoanDepot Park

Team Netherlands

Postgame Press Conference

Q. Can you tell us how the magic happened in the game today? Tomorrow you will be playing the Dominican Republic. What is the expectation that you have for the Dominican Republic, which is a very competitive team?

ANDRUW JONES: First of all, great game today. The guys didn't disappoint us. They fought until the very last minute, and we had two lucky balls, on third base and the walk-off home run.

We left many runners on bases. We made mistakes that they took advantage of. From the very beginning, I said, the team that makes the fewest mistakes will win. We won today, but we need to be better in order to prevent those mistakes tomorrow.

The expectation for the Dominican Republic, we'll see. We've got to play the game. We recognize the quality of the Dominican players. They all play in the majors, and they are favored. But we are going to play ball, and the players we have are not scared, they are not afraid, and they just have to do their job. Like I said, we have to prevent mistakes.

Q. The game today shows why you cannot be confident until the very last out, and your team showed that their strength is batting. Your impression of the Nicaraguan team?

ANDRUW JONES: Nicaragua? I saw the game against the Dominican Republic. They had a good beginning, good pitchers. You cannot make mistakes with the Dominican Republic, and they failed with Ozzie, for example, and he's a major leaguer, and he's very strong. But yes, we have to wait until the 27th out. Anything can happen in between, or before that, as was the case today.

Like I said again and again and again, they made a mistake, and we took advantage of that mistake.

Q. What's the morale like after this kind of a game as you have said many times that there were some mistakes that Nicaragua took advantage of. What do you say to the guys so they stay calm and focused? You faced Dusty for many years in the majors. What is it like to face him?

ANDRUW JONES: I repeat the same. The team with the fewest mistakes will win.

Today two teams fought until the end. They took advantage of our mistakes, and then we took advantage of their mistakes when they made that pitch in the middle of the plate.

I would say we played 80 percent better. This is the way I saw the game. But we have to wait until the very end of the game. The game is over when it is over.

The game today, I think that they are going to learn from this game because we are going to face the Dominican Republic tomorrow, a very good team. We'll see what we can do.

Regarding Dusty, Dusty is like an uncle for me. I know him very well. When he comes to Atlanta, we go out for dinner. And it's an honor to play against the team that is being managed by a Hall of Famer.

Q. It was impressive how you came from behind in the ninth inning. What was the plan for that inning, considering that the Nicaraguan pitcher, Obando, had done a very good job? Maybe you had a specific plan to attack that pitcher that was dominating you?

ANDRUW JONES: To be honest, the players stayed focused. They had faced Obando once at the latest. The first hitter was struck out and two hits in a row and then the home run. That's why it is important to make out during the game, but he was pitching very well the last four innings. And we couldn't score.

But in that last inning he made that mistakes, and we took advantage of that pitch specifically.

Q. Talk about the job that your pitching has been doing so far during the first two games.

ANDRUW JONES: Well, to be honest with you, the pitching has been great. I think, like I said before, in the last two games we made two bad pitching, when they scored the four runs against Venezuela, and today that two-run home run that they hit. After that, these guys have been pitching their heart out. I'm very proud of them. I think tomorrow is going to be a very tough task for everybody in the bullpen.

Like I say, it's going to be the last out. Try and make less mistakes than the other team, and we've got a good chance to win.