World Baseball Classic 2017: Bracket, championship schedule, and scores

The championship round is set. The Kingdom of the Netherlands. Japan. Puerto Rico. The United States of America. Three games to determine who will be the 2017 World Baseball Classic champions.

The United States became the last team to qualify for the championship round when they took down the defending champion Dominican Republic 6-3 in a win-or-go-home game in Pool F. The United States will now face Pool E winner—and two-time WBC champion—Japan in the semifinals on Tuesday. The first semifinal game will pit Pool E runner-up Netherlands against Pool F winner Puerto Rico on Monday.

Sunday is a travel day for the teams/catch-your-breath day for fans, then we get three straight nights of winner-take-all games, just like what we had Saturday night. Try to contain your enthusiasm.

The game started inauspiciously for the United States, as the Dominicans took advantage of some sloppy fielding to jump out to a 2-0 lead. After that Royals starter Danny Duffy settled in while Twins pitcher Ervin Santana seemed to get erratic. The US was able to tie it up off three hits in the third then, in the fourth inning, Giancarlo Stanton did this:

That made it 4-2 in the fourth and the game remained a tense, loud affair for the rest of the night. The score was still 4-2 in the seventh when Manny Machado stepped to the plate for the Dominicans and set a ball to deep right center. Again, words don’t do it justice:

Yes, he got robbed by fellow Orioles star (and San Diego native) Adam Jones. You can’t make this stuff up. The very next at bat, though, Robinson Canó homered to make it a 4-3 game. Top of the eighth and Andrew McCutchen, who had struggled to this point in the tournament, laced a two-run double to push the US lead to 6-3. Relievers Sam Dyson and Luke Gregerson were able to shut the door on the powerful Dominican lineup to send the United States to the next round. Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado had another hitless night, going 0-for-5

Puerto Rico had already clinched their spot as Pool F champions but they still had to play Venezuela on Saturday afternoon. Puerto Rico didn’t exactly sent their “A” lineup out there (Francisco Lindor, Yadier Molina, Javier Báez, and Carlos Beltrán all sat out), but that didn’t stop them from stomping Venezuela, 13-2. The big blow came in the seventh when Puerto Rico went walk, double, single, double, flyout, walk, single, walk, double play to push the score from 5-2 to 10-2. Ángel Pagán lead the way for Puerto Rico, going 3-for-6 and Mike Aviles went 4-for-5 with a walk and budding superstar Carlos Correa was 1-for-2 with three walks. Carlos González had one of Venezuela’s five hits.

Enjoy the off day. We have three breathless days of baseball ahead of us.

Semifinal Schedule

Netherlands vs. Puerto Rico

Location: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California

Date & Time: Monday, March 20 @ 7:00 pm MT

TV: MLB Network

Steaming: MLV.tv

United States vs. Japan

Location: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California

Time: Tuesday, March 21 @ 8 pm MT

TV: MLB Network

Steaming: MLV.tv

Second Round Recap

Championship Round