World Baseball Classic Morning Recap: Title contenders flex their muscles as Canada loses tight matchup with Panama
It was another busy day of baseball on Sunday at the World Baseball Classic, with seven games in action and our first rain delay of the tournament.
The knockout round began to take shape with every team having played at least two games, and one pool’s winner officially being decided.
Japan 4, Australia 3
The first game of the day – for North American viewers – took place at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, with the Samurais taking care of business to earn the narrow win and capture the top seed in Pool C.
Pitching dominated the first half of the game, with Colorado Rockies’ starter Tomoyuki Sugano and Australia’s Connor MacDonald duelling in the opening innings. An uncharacteristic throwing error by the Japanese allowed the Aussies to take the lead 1-0, a lead they would hold until the bottom of the 7th.
Masataka Yoshida’s towering two-run homer gave Japan a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish. They would tack on two runs in the 8th inning thanks to an RBI double by Teruaki Sato and a bases-loaded walk by Cubs’ outfielder Seiya Suzuki. Down 4-1, Australia showed some serious fight in the 9th inning, hitting two solo home runs to get within one run before Japan got the final out.
Japan moves to 3-0 and locks up the top seed in the pool, with their last round robin game against Czechia on Tuesday. Australia has a pivotal matchup against South Korea this morning, where a win will put them into the knockout round. Losing to Korea would set up a potential three-way tie alongside Chinese Taipei, where the tie-breaker would be the lowest runs against per defensive innings.
Dominican Republic 12, Netherlands 1 (7 innings)
In a game that was expected to be competitive, the Dominicans routed the Netherlands to stay unbeaten and show that they are a serious contender to win the tournament.
The alarmingly stacked DR lineup got started in a hurry, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. driving home a run with a single to open the scoring. The Dominicans would score their 12 runs across four innings, punctuated by a six-run fifth inning. They hit four home runs, with Guerrero hitting his first of the tournament.
VLADIMIR GUERRERO JR. NUKE TO EXTEND THE DR’S LEAD! 🇩🇴
It was a breezy afternoon for the Dominican pitching staff, with the offense doing its thing. Luis Severino twirled four innings of one-run ball, with Albert Abreu and Abner Uribe closing out the shortened game, as games end after seven innings with a team leading by ten runs or more.
It was a let-down game for the Netherlands after beating Nicaragua on a walk-off home run on Saturday. Now 1-2, their hopes of advancing look grim as they head into their Tuesday game against Israel, where they’ll need a win and help to advance. As for the Dominicans, they’ll face Israel on Monday before a Wednesday tilt with Venezuela that will, in all likelihood, decide the top seed of Pool D.
Mexico 16, Brazil 0
A dark horse candidate to win it all, Mexico flexed its muscles in a romp of Brazil on Sunday. Beloved Blue Jays’ catcher Alejandro Kirk had a great day at the plate, blasting a homer and a double while driving in four. The Mexicans scored early and often, with runs in five of six innings before the 15-run-after-five-innings mercy rule took effect.
A combination of big league veteran Taijuan Walker, Roel Ramirez, and Alexander Armenta combined to shutout Brazil. Former Blue Jays prospect Eric Pardinho took the brunt of the damage, taking the loss while giving up eight runs over three innings.
Panama 4, Canada 3
Abraham Toro and Owen Caissie once again delivered big hits, each delivering RBI doubles. The Canadian team struggled to hit with runners on in this one, stranding 10 total men on base. The biggest missed opportunity came in the 5th inning, when Canada had the bases loaded with one out. Toro popped up on the infield, failing to score the runner from third. A few moments later, Bo Naylor narrowly missed a bases-clearing double down the left field line, which instead landed a few feet foul. He would line out to end the inning.
Owen Caissie, Otto Lopez, and Bo Naylor teamed up for one of the most impressive relay plays you’ll ever see in the 8th, gunning down speed demon Enrique Bradfield Jr. at the plate. The play will go down as one of the best plays from the tournament:
Incredible relay from Owen Caisse and Otto Lopez to save a run for Canada.
Won’t see Enrique Bradfield Jr. get thrown out on the bases that often.
Jameson Taillon started and looked good for much of his start, giving up one run before being pulled with two outs in the 4th. Canada used seven total pitchers, including Blue Jays prospect Adam Macko and 37-year-old James Paxton, who allowed the three (unearned) runs in the 6th.
With the win, Panama – led by Vancouver Canadians’ manager Jose Mayorga – avoids elimination and moves to 1-2. They will look to stay alive with a win at 12:00 PM EST today against Colombia. Despite the tough loss, Canada is still alive at 1-1, but will likely need to beat both Puerto Rico and Cuba to advance in the pool after their off day on Monday.
Other scores:
Cuba 7, Colombia 4
Italy 7, Great Britain 4
Israel 5, Nicaragua 0