The games this Saturday were very good. The games on Sunday? Maybe not so much as there were some predictable blowouts. There were a few close games, sure, but for the most part these games were not that close.
Japan 4, Australia 3
This was a really good game to watch. Both teams entered 2-0 and the winner would get a place in the quarterfinals. It was a taut affair, well played and pitched by both sides, with Japan holding a one-run lead into the eighth inning. There, Masataka Yoshida continued his excellent
WBC showing by hitting a two-run home run to push the lead to three. In the ninth, the Aussies hit two solo home runs to pull them within one, but ultimately, Samurai Japan closed it out to advance to the next round.
Cuba 7, Colombia 4
For some reason, Cuba just continues to play really well in this competition despite having few major league players. They feasted on Colombian errors in the sixth inning to score three runs and make the score 7-2. They let a few runs in, but this game never felt close. Colombia is now 0-3 and needs a win to qualify for the 2029 WBC.
Dominican Republic 12, Netherlands 1
Speaking of never close…
This Dominican roster is just so stacked, the opposition needs to have major league pitching to even have a shot at beating them. The Netherlands does not have major league quality pitching right now and paid the price. Four home runs, hit by Austin Wells, Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., Junior Caminero and Juan Soto, decimated the Netherland pitching staff, Soto’s shot claiming victory via the mercy rule.
I love how the pitcher just starts walking off the mound after contact.
I’m not sure who can beat this team.
Italy 7, Great Britain 4
The Italian team is pretty good this year, with a decent lineup that can score runs. It’s their pitching staff that should be much improved from previous versions and thus far, they have lived up to that. They held the Brits in check after a rocky first inning while their offense built on the previous day’s work by putting up seven on a bad pitching staff. Their games against Mexico and the United States should be entertaining to watch.
Great Britain now has to beat Brazil in order to get an automatic bid for the next tournament. That should be the opposite of entertaining to watch.
Israel 5, Nicaragua 0
Another game that didn’t feel particularly close, Israel raced out to quick 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Noah Mendlinger, then rode solid starting pitching from Dean Kremer to shut down the Nicaraguan offense. Harrison Bader had an RBI single in the fifth inning, Zach Levenson had two more RBI in that same inning and that was that.
Watching this game for a bit, I kind of forgot that Kremer is a pretty good starter. It’s not the greatest of lineups to be facing in Nicaragua, but boy did he look good. That’s got to make the Orioles feel quite good about their chances this year.
Mexico 16, Brazil 0
This was never going to be a fair fight, but holy moly does Mexico look good. Jarren Duran, Alejandro Kirk and Alek Thomas all had multi-hit, multi-RBI games for Mexico, beating up on a Brazilian team that, quite frankly, does not deserve to be in the tournament.
Now, we get Mexico v. United States on Monday. Buckle up.
Panama 4, Canada 3
Probably the matchup of the day thanks to Panama’s desperation to win to continue having a shot to advance and Canada’s first chance to go up against a real team. The game was a good one except for a very sloppy sixth inning by the Canadians that cost them. James Paxton made an appearance for Canada, but in that ill fated sixth, the defense committed two errors that led to three Panamanian runs that ultimately decided the game. Panama stays alive while Canada needs to start winning games if they want to advance with its best roster in a while.
