After 16 teams, 39 games, six venues, and three weeks, we are finally ready to determine the 2017 World Baseball Classic champion.
Puerto Rico won the first semifinal over the Netherlands on Monday, and the United States defeated Japan Tuesday night to set up the highly anticipated match up of All-Star caliber lineups. Tonight we find out who will prevail.
Puerto Rico is looking to finish what they couldn’t back in 2013, when they lost in the finals to the Dominican Republic at AT&T Park. The United States has never been in the WBC final; their most successful appearance came when they made it to the semifinals in 2009 before losing to eventual champion Japan.
Puerto Rico manager Edwin Rodriguez has announced that New York Mets prospect Seth Lugo will get the ball to start today’s game. Lugo was phenomenal in his first WBC start against a stacked Venezuelan lineup, going 51⁄3 shutout innings, allowing just one hit with three strikeouts. (Read more about Puerto Rico’s path to the final here).
Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman will take the hill for Team USA. He was brilliant in his first WBC start: four shutout innings with three hits and four strikeout against a very talented Dominican Republic squad. (Read more about Team USA’s path to the final here).
This will be the second game between Puerto Rico and the United States this tournament. They last played on Friday, March 17 in a Pool F game that featured these same starting pitchers. Lugo allowed three runs on five hits with two strikeouts and two home runs allowed over 52⁄3 innings but never pitched without the lead.
Stroman, who gave up four runs on six straight hits to start the game, will hope to rebound from an up-and-down outing. He went on to shut out Puerto Rico through the following 42⁄3 innings, allowing a total of four runs on eight hits with a walk and two strikeouts. It gave Team USA a chance to win, but ultimately their ninth inning rally fell just short when Josh Harrison struck out with Brandon Crawford on third to end the game, 6-5. Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado had his best game of the tournament, going 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, and two runs scored.
All that can go out the window, now. Everything is on the line and, with over a week’s worth of spring training games left to recover, both teams should have their entire bullpens at their disposal.
There’s nothing left but to play the game. May the best nation win.
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WBC Championship Game for Wednesday, March 22
Puerto Rico vs. United States
Location: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California
Time: 7:00 p.m. MT
TV: MLB Network
Steaming: MLV.tv
Championship Round
WBC Championship Schedule
Date | Team | vs | Team | Time | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Team | vs | Team | Time | Venue |
Semifinals | |||||
March 20 | Netherlands (3) | vs | Puerto Rico (4) | F/11 | Dodger Stadium |
March 21 | United States (2) | vs | Japan (1) | F | Dodger Stadium |
Finals | |||||
March 22 | United States | vs | Puerto Rico | 7:00 pm MT | Dodger Stadium |
Second Round Recap
WBC Pool F Schedule and Results
Date | Team | v | Team | Time | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Team | v | Team | Time | Venue |
March 14 | Dominican Republic (1) | vs | Puerto Rico (3) | Petco Park | |
March 15 | Venezuela (2) | vs | United States (4) | Petco Park | |
March 16 | Venezuela (0) | vs | Dominican Republic (3) | Petco Park | |
March 17 | United States (5) | vs | Puerto Rico (6) | Petco Park | |
March 18 | Puerto Rico (13) | vs | Venezuela (2) | Petco Park | |
March 18 | United States (6) | vs | Dominican Republic (3) | Petco Park | |
March 19 | TBD | TBD | N/A | Petco Park |
Pool F Standings
Rank | Team | Wins | Losses | Runs Scored | Runs Allowed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Team | Wins | Losses | Runs Scored | Runs Allowed |
1 | Puerto Rico | 3 | 0 | 22 | 8 |
2 | United States | 2 | 1 | 15 | 11 |
3 | Dominican Republic | 1 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
4 | Venezuela | 0 | 3 | 4 | 20 |
WBC Pool E Schedule and Results
Date | Team | v | Team | Time | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Team | v | Team | Time | Venue |
March 11 | Cuba (1) | vs | Israel (4) | Tokyo Dome | |
March 12 | Japan (8) | vs | Netherlands (6) | Tokyo Dome | |
March 13 | Netherlands (12) | vs | Israel (2) | Tokyo Dome | |
March 14 | Cuba (5) | vs | Japan (8) | Tokyo Dome | |
March 14 | Netherlands (14) | vs | Cuba (1) | Tokyo Dome | |
March 15 | Israel (3) | vs | Japan (8) | Tokyo Dome |
Pool E Standings
Rank | Team | Wins | Losses | Runs Scored | Runs Allowed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Team | Wins | Losses | Runs Scored | Runs Allowed |
1 | Japan | 3 | 0 | 24 | 14 |
2 | Netherlands | 2 | 1 | 32 | 11 |
3 | Israel | 1 | 2 | 9 | 21 |
4 | Cuba | 0 | 3 | 7 | 26 |