“Expect Everything” is the slogan for this year’s World Baseball Classic. Still, few expected Day 5 of the WBC to deliver the drama and tension that it did.
That’ll teach us (and USA), I suppose.
Japan 9, Czechia 0
Three years ago, Czechia delivered one of the most memorable moments of the WBC as Czech pitcher Ondrej Satoria struck out Shohei Ohtani. Satoria faced off against Samurai Japan again yesterday, though Ohtani was not in the lineup. Even still, Satoria rose to the moment, tossing 4.2 shutout
innings in the final game of his WBC career. Japan shut down Czechia’s offense, but Satoria and his fellow pitchers kept things to a scoreless tie for most of the game. The dam burst in the bottom of the eighth, with Japan plating nine runs, eight of them coming from the long ball. Munetaka Murakami delighted the Tokyo Dome (and his new fans on the South Side) with a grand slam. The game spelled the end for Czechia’s 2026 World Baseball Classic, and their winless record means they’ll have to do more work to qualify for the next time round. Still, team Czechia can hold their heads high.
Israel 6, Netherlands 2
Team Netherlands took an early lead with a pair of runs in the first on a sac fly and fielder’s choice. Israel got on the board with a Noah Mendlinger walk and Jake Gelof double in the second. Six of the remaining seven innings were entirely scoreless. The game was decided via the sixth inning, with the pivotal rally beginning when a Phillie was called in to pinch-hit for a former Phillie: Garrett Stubbs for Harrison Bader. Stubbs reached base on an error, beginning a parade of bloops and blunders that saw Israel score 5. The Stubbs brothers— C.J. was the backstop for team Israel— didn’t have great games (Garrett was thrown out at home after reaching on that error), but they got to celebrate victories anyway.
Canada 3, Puerto Rico 2
A tight, rain-soaked affair saw team Canada squeak by Puerto Rico with the power of the free pass. The two teams both had five hits each, but Canada put two runs on the board via bases-loaded walks in the top of the third. They added one more run in the fourth with the more traditional method of a pair of base hits. Nobody scored after the fourth, making for one of those games that is simultaneously tight yet a little tiring.
Italy 8, United States 6
If things had gone as expected, the interview in which team USA manager Mark DeRosa’s inadvertently revealed he mistakenly thought his team had already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals would’ve been an afterthought. But as Michael Lorenzen shut down the star-spangled USA lineup—less star-spangled than it should’ve been thanks to the absence of Bryce Harper— his remarks spread across social media. Could DeRosa really have thought his team, still needing to clinch their spot in Miami, had already secured advancement? Could that explain why he put Paul Goldschmidt in the starting lineup? Though he was somewhat unclear when asked about it following his team’s shocking loss, it seems like the most likely explanation is that he really did think so.
As the interview circulated, Team USA fell eight runs behind, and the tiebreakers, suddenly highly relevant to the red, white, and blue, made the run differential matter. Team USA fought back with a homer from Gunnar Henderson and two for Pete Crow-Armstrong, and soon the Americans had Bryce Harper, called into action a bit too late, at the plate as a potential tying run. But he couldn’t produce Delirium at Daikin. His fellow Phillies had similarly quiet nights: Kyle Schwarber did record a hit, but Brad Keller allowed two runs in less than an inning of work.
Speaking of Phillies, Team USA’s fate now rests in the hands of Aaron Nola, who is scheduled to take the mound for Italy against Mexico tonight. A win for Italia, or a blowout loss for the same, sends team USA ahead to Miami. A vintage gem from Nola would provide a favorable breaking of the ties, and not our hearts.
