#world-baseball-classic

#world-baseball-classic

Between Alex Bregman getting on base like crazy, Seiya Suzuki dropping bombs in the Tokyo Dome, and Daniel Palencia firing 100+ for Venezuela, it's been a strong tournament for their respective clubs and the Cubs party as a whole.

After losing to Puerto Rico in walkoff fashion the night before, Panama rallied on a rainy night to beat Canada and secure their first victory of the tournament. This was a must-win game for a Canadian team that is looking to advance out of the group stage for the first time in the history of the WBC, and with Puerto Rico and Cuba both undefeated thus far, they now face an extremely tough road ahead.

Defending champion Japan became the first nation to clinch a quarterfinal berth in the World Baseball Classic, then rallied on Masataka Yoshida, two-run homer in the seventh inning to beat Australia 4-3 on Sunday night and assure first place in its first-round group.

For Japan, it was the Seiya Suzuki show, as the outfielder launched two home runs, both off Ko, to help Japan etch out an early 5-3 lead heading into the fourth inning. Shohei Ohtani and Masataka Yoshida added to the home run fun early, helping create the early lead.

In the bottom of the ninth inning with the Netherlands down by two runs to Nicaragua with two men on base and down to their final out, Ozzie came up huge for his squad and ended up making history in the process. Angel Obando threw a fastball right down the middle and Ozzie made no mistake with it, as he crushed it into the seats in right-center field in order to hit the very first walk-off home run in World Baseball Classic history.

Ozzie Albies hit a game-winning three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to lead the Netherlands over Nicaragua on Saturday. The Netherlands began its two-out rally on Ceddanne Rafaela's single against reliever Angel Obando. Xander Bogaerts doubled, advancing Rafaela to third before Albies hit Obando's first pitch over the wall in right.

A 10th-round pick for Cleveland in the 2006 draft, Espino finally made it to the Show in March 2017 when he was 30 years and pitching with the Brewers. He tossed 24 total innings that season between the Brewers and Rangers and then didn't resurface in the majors again until 2020 when he was a member of the Nationals.

The catching prospect had two hits and hit a game tying home run in the sixth inning in Great Britain's game against Mexico. Great Britain ultimately lost to Mexico 8-2, but Ford played will and provided offensive firepower for the Brits.

One of the more interesting elements of the Classic are the faces in the dugouts -- where traditional divisional rivals such as Aaron Judge and Gunnar Henderson or Julio Rodriguez and Ketel Marte will suit up as teammates.

This week, Brett and I start with a conversation about the World Baseball Classic, what it means to us, who/what we're really rooting for, and what we hope to see from specific Cubs. After that, we get into the modestly viral Joe Maddon hot takes, one of which I actually think is very much correct.

Nothing I believe that's going to take him out of game action, Vitello said. The Giants have already had one World Baseball Classic-related injury this week when left-hander Reiver Sanmartin injured his right hip flexor in Team Colombia's exhibition against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, forcing him to pull out of the tournament.

Newly signed star closer Edwin Diaz and Team Puerto Rico will face Team Colombia at 3 p.m. Pacific Time. That game will be broadcast on FS1. It's the squad's first game of the WBC, and it also will mark Diaz's return to the competition after he sustained a ruptured tendon while celebrating a strikeout in the 2023 WBC.

The most notable headline this offseason related to the World Baseball Classic involved Puerto Rico's roster and the insurance complications multiple star players faced, ultimately forcing them to miss the tournament. Carlos Correa and Francisco Lindor were all set to contribute to the middle part of the Puerto Rican lineup, though they were all denied coverage due to prior injury history.

Peña was playing for the Dominican Republic team yesterday in an exhibition contest against the Tigers in advance of the World Baseball Classic. In the third inning, he fielded a grounder from Wenceel Pérez behind the second base bag. Peña was able to make the play and throw out Pérez but was seen looking at his finger. He was later removed from the contest.

Left-handed pitcher Adam Macko has been optioned to the Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons, whereas right-handers Fernando Perez and Gage Stanifer have been assigned to their Minor League camp. All three pitching prospects currently rank among the top 21 prospects within the Blue Jays organization as per MLB Pipeline.

The Braves' lineup of regulars (plus fill-ins for their own guys at the WBC or... suspended for doing dumb stuff again) plated eight runs in the first three frames. Former top prospect Luis Patino struggled as Colombia's starter, more or less showing why the Padres moved on from him after years of elbow troubles and ineffectiveness.

It's looking increasingly likely that the deal that sent Christian Vazquez to the Houston Astros for Wilyer Abreu will be remembered not only as Chaim Bloom's best trade during his tenure at the helm of the Red Sox, but as one of the best trade's in recent baseball memory. Abreu has already won two Gold Gloves and isn't that far off from making the all-star team.