Welcome to Pinstripe Alley’s coverage of the 2026 World Baseball Classic! We previewed Pool A, Pool B, Pool C, and Pool D in the linked articles. Since the first several days of the WBC feature a bevy of games, we’ll be recapping them in batches. Enjoy!
Friday marked the first full slate of World Baseball Classic action after a few appetizers in Tokyo on Wednesday and Thursday. The early batch of games lacked any major upsets, but just because the games went to chalk doesn’t mean they weren’t full of exciting
moments and intriguing storylines. Let’s take a gander at the first four contests in a jam-packed day of around-the-globe baseball.
Pool C: Japan (1-0) 13, Chinese Taipei (0-2) 0
The defending WBC champs entered the fray on Saturday night in Tokyo with a mighty roar in their home ballpark against poor Chinese Taipei, a squad already fighting an uphill battle with the loss of their captain Chieh-Hsien Chen in their tournament-opening loss to Australia. Who else would light the fire in the second inning but the biggest star in the sport? Shohei Ohtani strode to the plate with the bases loaded against Hao-Chun Cheng and did what baseball superheroes do: he hit a grand slam to right field.
That blast was the first blow in what would become a 10-run inning for Samurai Japan. Red Sox DH Masataka Yoshida, new MLB addition Murataka Murakami, and the rest of the lineup added on before Ohtani came right back up and smacked a single to plate that 10th and final run. He almost hit for the cycle in just a few innings before departing early with the game well in hand. I’m not sure Yoshinobu Yamamoto needed quite that much run support, but he did his job, pitching around three walks to log 2.2 scoreless innings in his first taste of competitive ball since his 2025 playoff masterclass.
Japan added three more runs i the third to polish off the blowout victory, which ended in a shutout thanks in part to a close call in the fifth. With Hiroya Miyagi pitching, the Guardians’ Stuart Fairchild clubbed a high drive down the left-field line which easily reached the seats, but was ruled foul. The call on the field stood after review. This one’s about as close as it gets; I’m sure the umpires were relieved they didn’t have to make this decision in a close game.
Pool A: Cuba (1-0) 3, Panama (0-1) 1
The first Classic game to take place in Puerto Rico since 2013 was a tight, well-pitched affair between two Latin American rivals. Cuba, a tournament semifinalist in 2023, faced off against José Caballero and Panama, the team that recently played against the Yankees in a pre-tournament scrimmage. The Cubans struck first in the second on a line-drive homer to right from Yoelkis Guibert to break the seal. Then in the third, the Angels’ Yoán Moncada took Cleveland’s Logan Allen deep to left for a two-run homer, extending Cuba’s lead to 3-0.
Cuba’s pitching staff, led by 2025 Pacific League MVP Livan Moinelo and Toronto’s Yariel Rodríguez, held the Panama offense at arm’s length. Former Braves infielder Johan Camargo finally managed to get his squad off the schneid in the seventh inning, but a costly baserunning mistake from the Phillies’ Edmundo Sosa an inning later defanged a potential rally. In the ninth, Yomiuri Giants star closer Raidel Martinez retired the side in order to seal the victory. As a Yankees-related postscript: no hits, one walk, and a few slick plays at shortstop for Caballero in the loss.
Pool D: Venezuela (1-0) 6, Netherlands (0-1) 2
Team Venezuela returned to Miami, the site of their greatest heroics from the last WBC, to host old friend Didi Gregorius and the Dutch contingent in the first game of Pool D, which has a case as the “Pool of the Death.” Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. got the party started for Venezula with a leadoff double, and then a Luis Arraez single past a drawn-in infield gave them an early 1-0 lead.
The Netherlands responded quickly to tie the score thanks to a two-out RBI hustle double by D-backs prospect Druw Jones off Ranger Suarez—making his father (and manager) proud. But the Venezuelans would not allow the tie to hold for long. Who better than a Miami Marlin to tee off in his home ballpark? While Javier Sanoja is not a household name, he put himself squarely on the radar with this go-ahead homer.
That 2-1 scoreline held up until the fifth inning, when the Dutch pitching staff—and defense—faltered. Venezuela got the first two men aboard before Maikel Garcia laid down a sacrifice bunt … and easily raced to an uncovered first base. Arráez made them pay with a bases-loaded walk, then a Willson Contreras two-run single rubbed salt in the wound. Wilyer Abreu kept the Venezuelan drum circle going with one last RBI of his own, and the big inning allowed their staff to keep the beat all the way to victory. A Jones sac fly in the sixth marked the only tally afterward.
Pool B: Mexico (1-0) 8, Great Britain (0-1) 2
This game has a misleading final score; it’s a classic case of an underdog team pushing a superior opponent to the limit before the wheels fall off at the very end. Mexico could not feel comfortable with a narrow 1-0 lead bestowed by a homer from Nacho Alvarez Jr., and indeed that lead vanished in the sixth thanks to the Nationals’ Harry Ford—who had his coming out party in the previous Classic, when he was still a Mariners prospect. This solo shot tied the game and put everyone on upset watch.
But Panama was not the only team to suffer from self-inflicted wounds today. Later in the inning, the Brits got two aboard with two out for third baseman Ivan Johnson, who smacked a single to left. But an overaggressive send from their third base coach gave Seattle’s Randy Arozarena just the opportunity he needed to announce his return to the international stage. He easily cut down Matt Koperniak attempting to score from second and kept Great Britain at bay.
At last in the eighth, the sun set on the British empire. A strong outing from delightfully-named Rays prospect Gary Gill Hill quickly went sour, giving the heart of the Mexican order a big opportunity. Fellow Ray Jonathan Aranda greeted new pitcher Tristan Beck with an opposite field three-run home run into the Crawford Boxes to untie the score for good.
Mexico put the finishing touches on a surprisingly tough victory in the ninth thanks to run-scoring hits from Alek Thomas, Joey Ortiz, and—of course—Arozarena. Here’s Yankee-related postscript number two: Jazz Chisholm Jr. was another Bomber who suffered defeat in his tournament debut. Jazz went 0-for-5 as the leadoff man for Team GB. He’ll look for a better performance against Aaron Judge and Team USA tomorrow night.
Here are the games that still lie ahead tonight. We’ll have the recap for this quartet in the morning!
Puerto Rico vs. Colombia (Pool A)
Pitching matchup: RHP Seth Lugo vs. LHP Jose Quintana
Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
Venue: Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, PR
Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic (Pool D)
Pitching matchup: RHP Ronald Medrano vs. LHP Cristopher Sánchez
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS2
Venue: loanDepot park, Miami, FL
United States vs. Brazil (Pool B)
Pitching matchup: RHP Logan Webb vs. RHP Bo Takahashi
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Venue: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
Chinese Taipei vs. Czech Republic (Pool C)
Pitching matchup: RHP Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang vs. LHP Jan Novak
Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS2
Venue: Tokyo Dome, Japan
