We had a lot of great games Monday but not many upsets.
Tonight, we will have a game thread for the three evening games, which are: Israel/Netherlands, Canada/Puerto Rico and Italy/USA. The thread will post at 5:30 p.m. CT.
Pool A (San Juan):
Colombia scored four runs in the sixth inning and hung on to beat Panama 4-3.
This game was a pitcher’s duel to start. Panama’s Paolo Espino, who pitched for Panama in the very first World Baseball Classic all the way back in 2006, made his very last
start before retirement a good one. Espino threw 4.1 innings and allowed just one hit and no runs. He struck out four and walked no one.
Here are some Espino highlights [VIDEO].
The problem for Espino and Panama was that Colombia’s Adrian Almeida, who pitched in the minors for the Mets and Angels and is in the Mexican League now, was even better. Almeida allowed just one baserunner of over four innings and that was a hit by pitch.
The game was still scoreless in the top of the sixth when Colombia got to Panama reliever Miguel Gómez, who pitched in the Nationals system last year. After Mariners top prospect Michael Arroyo walked and Harold Ramírez singled, Gómez was summoned from the pen and walked the bases loaded.
After a sacrifice fly by the A’s Jordan Diaz, Reynaldo Rodríguez, who has been in the Mexican League since leaving the Twins minor league system in 2016, singled home two [VIDEO].
Rays minor leaguer Daniel Vellojin would single home the fourth run of the sixth inning with one out.
Panama was without a hit until the Yankees’ José Caballero drove one over the left field wall. [VIDEO]
That’s where things stayed until Panama rallied in the eighth inning off former Cubs’ farmhand Yapson Gómez. Dodgers minor leaguer José Ramos, Edmundo Sosa and the Cubs’ Christian Bethancourt hit three-straight two-out singles. Here’s Bethancourt’s single that made it 4-3 [VIDEO].
But that was all there was in this game. Well, not all as tempers boiled when Panama’s Jonathan Arauz got into a scuffle with his manager José Mayorga.
Miguel Amaya was 0 for 2 in this game and was pulled for a pinch runner after he was hit by pitch.
Christian Bethancourt was 1 for 4 with the RBI.
Panama and Colombia both finish pool play at 1-3.
Puerto Rico clinches a spot in the single-elimination rounds with a 4-1 win over Cuba.
Puerto Rico loaded the bases in the bottom of the second inning off of former Rangers minor leaguer Julio Robaina. That brought up Martín Maldonado and he emptied the bases in a hurry with a three-run double down the left field line. [VIDEO]
Puerto Rico added on another run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Cortes.
Cuba managed only two hits off of five Puerto Rico pitchers, led by Yankees Triple-A player Elmer Rodríguez. But one of the hitswas this double in the sixth inning by longtime NPB player Alfredo Despaigne. It came off former Phillies pitcher Yacksel Ríos and scored one run. [VIDEO]
Cuba can still advance to the elimination round with a win over Canada on Wednesday. In fact, the winner of that game will go on to the quarterfinals.
Pool B (Houston):
Great Britain avoids finishing last in the group and having to qualify for the next WBC with an 8-1 win over Brazil. Brazil, on the other hand, is relegated down to the qualifying groups.
Both British starter Brendon Beck, a 2021 second-round pick of the Yankees, and Brazilian starter Enzo Sawayama, who plays in the industrial leagues in Japan, held the other team scoreless through four innings.
Brazil actually scored first in this game when catcher Gabriel Do Carmo, who plays in the French (!) League, doubled in a run off of Rays minor leaguer Gary Gill Hill. [VIDEO]
Unfortunately for Brazil, that lead was short-lived as Marlins minor leaguer Ian Lewis Jr. led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run [VIDEO].
Gotta love that stupid palace guard hat they have to wear when they hit a home run. It’s one of the cute touches that makes the WBC cool.
Later in the fifth inning, Harry Ford Jr. singled home Trayce Thompson [VIDEO] for the lead.
The third British run that inning came on a Jazz Chisholm Jr. groundout.
Unfortunately, that Do Carmo RBI double would be the only hit that Brazil would get in this game and Great Britain scored in every inning from the fifth on. Cardinals Triple-A player Matt Koperniak had a two-run single in the seventh and Chisholm had another two-run single in the eighth.
Cubs minor leaguer BJ Murray Jr. went 1 for 4 with a double and a run scored for Great Britain.
What was shaping up to be a Team USA romp after they scored five runs in the third inning turned into a tight contest, but the USA hung on for a 5-3 win.
Paul Skenes started for Team USA and he dominated, as Paul Skenes is known to do. Skenes allowed just one hit and one walk over four innings while striking out seven. [VIDEO]
Skenes got some help from this outfield assist from Aaron Judge. [VIDEO]
Judge put Team USA up 2-0 in the bottom of the third with this home run off of former Braves pitcher Jesus Cruz. [VIDEO]
Later in the third, Roman Anthony made it 5-0 on this three-run home run off Cruz. [VIDEO]
But Skenes exited after four innings. Garrett Cleveninger threw one inning before Matthew Boyd entered the game in the sixth. I have some advice for Craig Counsell: Don’t let Boyd pitch against Jarren Duran.
First, Duran hit this home run off of Boyd in the sixth. [VIDEO]
Boyd gave up a second run in the sixth inning but it’s hard to blame him after this bad hop single off the bat of the A’s Joey Meneses. [VIDEO]
Boyd retired Mexico in order in the seventh inning, but he had to face Duran again in the eighth. And Duran went deep again. [VIDEO]
Boyd finished with a line of three runs on five hits over 2.1 innings. He struck out three and walked no one.
But that’s all Mexico would get. And Team USA pitchers benefitted from two great defensive plays by shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. [VIDEO]
Alex Bregman was 0 for 3 with a walk.
Pete Crow-Armstrong did not play in this game.
Mexico can still advance to the next round with a win over Italy.
Pool C (Tokyo):
This result should not be a surprise to anyone. Japan is a potential winner of this tournament and Czechia is really just beginning its baseball history.
Surprisingly, then, the Czechs kept Japan scoreless through seven innings. But Czechia could manage only two hits through eight, and then Japan’s offense went to work, scoring all nine of their runs.
The two big blows were home runs. Ukyo Shuto hit a three-run homer [VIDEO].
Shuto is an outfielder for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.
Later that inning, Munetaka Murakami, who will play this year for the White Sox, hit a grand slam [VIDEO].
Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki did not play in this game.
Samurai Japan completes pool play undefeated at 4-0. They’ll face the runner-up from Pool D in Miami in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Pool D (Miami):
Dominican Republic 10, Israel 1
The Dominican Republic had no problem clinching a trip to the single-elimination rounds with a 10-1 win over Israel.
The Dominican Republic took the lead in the second inning. Guardians minor leaguer Ryan Prager retired the side in order in the first, but he walked three batters in the second inning to load the bases. Then he walked Geraldo Perdomo to force in a run and make it 1-0.
Prager did not walk Fernando Tatis Jr. He probably wishes he had. Here’s the grand slam in English, Spanish and Japanese. [VIDEO]
Oneil Cruz made it 6-0 with a home run in the fourth. [VIDEO]
Team Israel didn’t fold at that point and Spencer Horwitz connected off Brayan Bello in the bottom of the fourth. [VIDEO]
But unfortunately for Israel, that was the only hit they’d get off Bello over five innings. Bello struck out seven. [VIDEO]
Tatis would hit a two-run single in the seventh inning, giving him six RBI on the game.
Seven Venezuela pitchers scattered seven hits and they made their five hits count for four runs as Venezuela beat Nicaragua 4-0 and clinched a spot in the quarterfinals.
Venezuela took an early lead when Ronald Acuña Jr. walked to lead off the game. Acuña then stole second base, went to third on a bad throw to second and scored on a Jackson Chourio sacrifice fly.
Acuña then made it 2-0 in the third inning with this solo home run. [VIDEO]
Acuña then made it 3-0 with an RBI single in the fifth. [VIDEO]
Venezuela got their fourth and final run on a sacrifice fly by Wilyer Abreu in the sixth inning.
