World Baseball Classic 2023 (Expansion Era All-Star Edition)

[Honus1908]

POOL B @ Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada
EURA 002-000-000 - 2 5 1

MXCO 011-001-100 - 4 8 1
WP-Higuera (1-0, CG) LP-Blyleven (0-1)
HR-Ethier (1), Garciaparra (1)

New additions Andre Ethier and Nomar Garciaparra lifted Mexico to the top of Pool B with home runs and Teddy Higuera hurled a complete game to stymie Europa (Europe+Australia) in that team’s opener.

VENZ 000-000-000 - 0 2 0

PRCO 003-000-100 - 3 8 0
WP-Figueroa (1-0, CG 2-hit Shutout) LP-Hernandez (0-1)
HR-none

Ed Figueroa came up big for PR, firing a two-hit shutout as the islanders evened their record. Carlos Beltran went 3-4 and Orlando Cepeda drove in two runs to lead the offense.

Standings
2-0 Mexico
1-0 Canada
1-1 Puerto Rico
0-1 Europa
0-2 Venezuela

Next up, Pool A from Tokyo:
Americas (Vicente Padilla) vs. Asia (Yu Darvish)
Cuba (Camilo Pascual) vs. Dominican Republic (Jose Rijo)

[Honus1908]

POOL A @ Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Canada
AMER 140-000-000 - 5 11 1

ASIA 100-100-002 - 4 8 1
WP-Padilla (1-0) LP-Darvish (0-1) Sv-Rivera (1)
HR-Renteria (1), Choi (1)

Asia fought back Ji-Man Choi’s two-run home run in the eighth but it was not enough to secure them their first win as the Americas finished round-robin play in prime position for advancement.

CUBA 000-300-000 - 3 5 0

DREP 020-020-000 - 4 5 1
WP-Rijo (1-0) LP-Pascual (0-1) Sv-Benoit (1)
HR-M. Ramirez (2), Beltre (1), Cespedes (1), Tejada (2)

Cuba and the Dominican Republic combined for just ten hits, but five left the yard as the DR improved their chances for advancement and Cuba kissed theirs goodbye.

Standings
3-0 Israel
3-1 Americas
2-1 Dominican Republic
0-3 Asia
0-3 Cuba

Next up, Pool C from Miami:
USA New England (TBD) vs. USA Southeast (TBD)
Next up, Pool B from Toronto:
Mexico (TBD) vs. Canada (TBD)

[Honus1908]

POOL B @ Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada
MXCO 200-201-300 - 8 9 0

CAND 000-000-010 - 1 5 1
WP-J. Urias (1-0, CG, 10Ks) LP-Harden (0-1)
HR-A. Gonzalez (1), Puhl (1)

Mexico jumped to an early lead on an Adrian Gonzalez home run in the first and never looked back, solidifying their lead in Pool B.

Standings
3-0 Mexico
1-1 Canada
1-1 Puerto Rico
0-1 Europa
0-2 Venezuela

Next up, Pool C from Miami:
USA Southwest (Steve Carlton) vs. USA New England (Tom Glavine)
Pool D from Phoenix
USA Northwest (Curt Schilling) USA Southwest (Greg Maddux)

[Honus1908]

POOL C @ LoanDepot Park, Miami, Florida

USSE 110-000-011 - 4 9 3

USNE 000-000-010 - 3 5 1
WP-Carlton (1-0, 8.1 IP, 1 ER) LP-Glavine (0-1) Sv-Wagner (1)
HR-Konerko (1)

POOL D @ Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona
USNW 000-000-000 - 0 3 1

USSW 200-000-100 - 3 6 1
WP-Maddux (1-0, CG 3-hit SHO) LP-Schilling (0-1)
HR-B. Robinson (1)

[Honus1908]

POOL C @ LoanDepot Park, Miami, Florida

Roger Clemens looked strong shutting out USA Metro on five hits, striking out 10. Jim Thome (2-5, HR, 2 BI), Pete Rose (1-3, R, 2 BI) and Ted Simmons (2-3, R, BI) led the Great Lakes offense.

[Honus1908]

POOL B @ Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada

In one of the more exciting games of the tournament so far, Puerto Rico staged a ninth-inning come from behind victory against Europa. Starters Juan Pizarro and Danny Cox exchanged goose eggs for three innings before Robert Clemente started the scoring for PR with a solo shot in the fourth. Max Kepler responded with a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning putting Europa on top. Clemente struck again in the sixth with his third homer of the tourney to tie the game, but Andruw Jones added a two-run HR to once again give Europa the lead. Liam Hendriks relieved Cox in the seventh to squelch a rally and made quick work of PR in the eighth. In the ninth, Carlos Correa led off with a single against Europa closer Kenley Jansen. Pudge Rodriguez singled Correa to third and stole second to put the tying run in scoring position. Jansen bore down to get pinch-hitter Jorge Posada to pop up and Roberto Alomar flied out to Andruw Jones in shallow center. But Bernie Williams played the hero, lacing a single to left-center to even the score and Carlos Delgado followed with a double to right-center to give PR the lead. Robert Hernandez earned the win save striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth.

[Honus1908]

Pool D, Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona

USA Mountain (Dave McNally) vs. USA West (Tom Seaver)

T5
Ron HASSEY DOUBLES to left center; Kris BRYANT and Joey GALLO score.
USA MOUNTAIN 2, USA WEST 0
J.J. HARDY SINGLES to right, Ron HASSEY scores.
USA MOUNTAIN 3, USA WEST 0

B6
Jeff KENT hits HOMERUN over left center field fence, Barry BONDS scores.
USA MOUNTAIN 3, USA WEST 2

B7
Tony GWYNN SINGLES to right, Eddie MURRAY scores.
USA MOUNTAIN 3, USA WEST 3

T8
Cody BELLINGER hits HOMERUN over right field fence.
USA MOUNTAIN 4, USA WEST 3

B8
Jim EDMONDS hits HOMERUN over right field fence.
USA MOUNTAIN 4, USA WEST 4

B9
Mark McGWIRE hits HOMERUN over center field fence, Tony GWYNN scores.
USA WEST 6, USA MOUNTAIN 4

[Honus1908]

POOL A @ Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan

Dominican Republic (Johnny Cueto) vs. Israel (Max Fried)

T4
Albert PUJOLS hits HOMERUN over right field fence.
Dominican Republic 1, Israel 0

Adrian BELTRE SINGLES to right, Manny RAMIREZ scores.
Dominican Republic 2, Israel 0

T6
Adrian BELTRE hits HOMERUN over center field fence, Manny RAMIREZ scores.
Dominican Republic 4, Israel 0

B7
Ron BLOMBERG SINGLES over second driving in Shawn GREEN and Ian KINSLER. Joc PEDERSON stops at second.
Dominican Republic 4, Israel 2

Cuba (Livan HERNANDEZ) vs. Asia (Hyun-Jin RYU)
T1
Jose CANSECO hits HOMERUN over center field fence, Rafael PALMEIRO scores.
Cuba 2, Asia 0

Jose ABREU hits HOMERUN over right field fence.
Cuba 3, Asia 0

T2
Rafael PALMEIRO SINGLES over first driving in Yoenis CESPEDES and Bert CAMPANERIS.
Cuba 5, Asia 0

B6
Shohei OHTANI SINGLES to left center. Ha-Seong KIM and Ichiro SUZUKI score.
Cuba 5, Asia 2

B8
Kenji JOHJIMA SINGLES thru short. Jung Ho KANG scores.
Cuba 5, Asia 3

POOL A FINAL Standings
3-1 Israel
3-1 Dominican Republic
3-1 Americas
1-3 Cuba
0-4 Asia

The WBC does not play extra games but we will. Based on run differential, Israel automatically advances to quarterfinals to play the runner-up from Pool B. Dominican Republic will meet the Americas in a one game playoff to advance and play the Pool B champion.

ALL-TOKYO TEAM
C Grandahl CUB .357-0-1
1B Youkilis ISR .313-3-5
2B Kinsler ISR .286-2-3
3B Beltre DR .357-2-4
SS Loretta ISR .438-1-4
OF Green ISR .444-2-5
OF Guerrero DR .267-2-3
OF Oglivie AME .500-1-4
SP Teheran AME 1-0 2.08

[Honus1908]

POOL C, LoanDepot Park, Miami, Florida
USA New England (Chris Carpenter) vs. USA Mid-Atlantic (Mike Mussina)

T1
None out, none on.
Davey LOPES DOUBLES over third.

Carlton FISK at the plate. Mike MUSSINA throws wild pitch, Davey LOPES advances to third.

Carlton FISK flies out to Reggie JACKSON, Davey LOPES scores on sacrifice fly.
USA New England 1, USA Mid-Atlantic 0

B2
None out, none on.
Paul GOLDSCHMIDT SINGLES to left, steals second.

Al KALINE grounds out, Richie HEBNER to Jeff BAGWELL; Paul GOLDSCHMIDT goes to third.

Mark TEIXEIRA hits grounder to Richie HEBNER, Paul GOLDSCHMIDT escapes rundown on Richie HEBNER’s dropped return throw from Carlton FISK, Mark TEIXEIRA thrown out at second, Richie HEBNER to Davey LOPES, Paul GOLDSCHMIDT remains at third.

Cal RIPKEN SINGLES over second, Paul GOLDSCHMIDT scores.
USA New England 1, USA Mid-Atlantic 1

B3
None out, none on.
Don MONEY DOUBLES over first.

Reggie JACKSON flies out to A.J. POLLOCK, Don MONEY goes to third.

Ken GRIFFEY Jr. flies out to George SPRINGER, Don MONEY tags up and scores.
USA Mid-Atlantic 2, USA New England 1

B6
None out, none on.
Reggie JACKSON walks, takes 1st.

Ken, Jr. GRIFFEY TRIPLES to left, Reggie JACKSON scores.
USA Mid-Atlantic 3, USA New England 1

Chris CARPENTER balks! Ken, Jr. GRIFFEY scores. Al KALINE advances to second.
USA Mid-Atlantic 4, USA New England 1

T7
George SPRINGER SINGLES to center.

Paul KONERKO SINGLES; beats out infield hit, George SPRINGER to 2nd.

Richie HEBNER grounds out, Dick ALLEN to Paul GOLDSCHMIDT. George SPRINGER goes to third, Paul KONERKO advances to second.

Mike MUSSINA issues an intentional base on balls, A.J. POLLOCK advances 1 base

Lineup Change: Jay JOHNSTONE for Mark BELANGER

Jay JOHNSTONE SINGLES over second driving in George SPRINGER and Paul KONERKO. A.J. POLLOCK ran through the third base coach’s stop sign but he gets to third.
USA Mid-Atlantic 4, USA New England 3

USMA Lineup Change: Sparky LYLE for Mike MUSSINA

Davey LOPES flies out to Ken, Jr. GRIFFEY. A.J. POLLOCK scores after tagging up. Jay JOHNSTONE holds.
USA Mid-Atlantic 4, USA New England 4

B7
USNE Lineup Changes:
SS Dick McAULIFFE for Paul KONERKO
Jay JOHNSTONE moves to LF

None out, none on
Cal RIPKEN SINGLES to right.
USNE Lineup Change: Bob STANLEY for Chris CARPENTER

T8
None out, none on
Jeff BAGWELL SINGLES to right.

Mo VAUGHN grounds to Paul GOLDSCHMIDT who throws to Sparky LYLE covering; Mo VAUGHN is out. Jeff BAGWELL to second.

George SPRINGER hits HOMERUN over center field fence, Jeff BAGWELL scores.
USA New England 6, USA Mid-Atlantic 4

B8
None out, none on.
Ken, Jr. GRIFFEY hits HOMERUN over right field fence.
USA New England 6, USA Mid-Atlantic 5

T9
None out, none on
USMA Lineup Change: Bruce SUTTER for Sparky LYLE

B9
None out, none on
USNE Lineup Change: Jeff REARDON for Bob STANLEY

Mark TEIXEIRA pops out to Davey LOPES.

Cal RIPKEN strikes out.

Lance PARRISH strikes out.

GAME OVER. USA New England (1-1) USA Mid-Atlantic (0-1)

[Honus1908]

POOL A - Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan

The Dominican Republic (4-1) avenged their opening game loss to the Americas (3-2) to advance to the WBC quarterfinals. Two-run homers by Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa and a five-hit shutout from Pedro Martinez provided the kind of dominance that made them a pre-tournament favorite.

On deck, Europa (Charlie Lea) vs. Venezuela (Anibal Sanchez), from Toronto.

[Honus1908]

POOL B - Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada

Venezuela (1-2) kept their slim hopes of advancement alive, beating Europa (0-3). Carlos Zambrano and Francisco Rodriguez combined on a three-hitter and Salvador Perez knocked in two runs.

[Honus1908]

POOL D - Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona

Bryce Harper took Bob Gibson deep – twice – as USA Mountain (1-1) upset USA Midwest (0-1). John Denny hurled a complete game, allowing seven hits and two walks with nary a strikeout to be found on his ledger.

[Honus1908]

POOL C - LoanDepot Park, Miami, Florida

The Great Lakes (2-0) put on the biggest offensive display of the tournament thus far pounding out nine runs on 14 hits to defeat the Southeast (1-1). Scott Rolen and Mike Schmidt homered and Ted Simmons knocked in three runs to lead the charge.

[Honus1908]

POOL B - Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada

The offensive fireworks continued as Puerto Rico (3-1) demolished Canada (1-2), clinching spots in the quarterfinals for both themselves and Mexico. Bernie Williams and Mike Lowell homered and drove in a combined seven runs for PR; Larry Walker hit a grand slam for Canada, while Freddie Freeman also homered, but continued to struggled at third base, committing his third and fourth errors of the tournament (his fielding percentage is .636).

Through 26 games the overall batting average is .213; ERA, 3.62 and fielding, .976.

[Honus1908]

POOL D - Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona

Eddie Murray’s fourth inning grand slam gave the West (2-0) a lead they never relinquished as Trevor Hoffman and Dennis Eckersley provided shutdown relief. Starters Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson combined for 11 walks. Southwest falls to 1-1.

[Honus1908]

POOL C - LoanDepot Field, Miami, Florida

Joe Torre of USA Metro (1-1) broke open the game in the third with a bases-loaded triple (after an intentional walk, no less) putting USA New England (1-2) at a deficit they could not overcome.

[Honus1908]

POOL B - Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada

Host Canada (2-2) closed out their tournament and evened their record on Jason Bay’s fourth inning grand slam. Starter Moe Drabowsky of winless Europa (0-4) walked seven and hit a batter in 3.1 innings pitched.

[Honus1908]

POOL B - Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada

Michael Young ended the tournament’s longest game with a 13th inning two-run homer off Johan Santana as Mexico ended pool play undefeated.

POOL B FINAL Standings
4-0 Mexico
3-1 Puerto Rico
2-2 Canada
1-3 Venezuela
0-4 Europa

Mexico will play Dominican Republic in the quarterfinals; Puerto Rico faces Israel.

ALL-TORONTO TEAM
C Martin CAND .500-0-0 2R
1B Cabrera VENZ .357-0-0 1R
2B Young MXCO .143-1-2 GW HR (2B hit .95 collectively)
3B Lowell PRCO .750-1-4
SS Garciaparra MXCO .357-1-1 5R
OF Clemente PRCO .333-3-4
OF Ethier MXCO .462-2-4
OF Walker CAND .333-1-6
SP Figueroa PRCO 1-0 0.00 1-hit CG shutout

[Honus1908]

POOL D - Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona

Cody Bellinger’s three-run homer in the sixth lifted USA Mountain (2-1) to a come-from-behind win as defending champ USA Northwest (0-2) falls precariously close to elimination.

On deck: USA Mid-Atlantic (Matlack) vs. USA Southeast (Verlander) @ Miami

[Honus1908]

POOL C - LoanDepot Field, Miami, Florida

George BRETT’s eighth-inning single over second drove in Willie RANDOLPH and Ozzie SMITH to give USA Southeast (2-1) the victory. USA Mid-Atlantic (1-2) took a first-inning lead in the first on Reggie Jackson’s HR but Southeast rocked Justin Verlander for six runs in the fourth. Mid-Atlantic notched a pair of runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to tie it, before Brett’s base hit off MA closer Bruce Sutter.

WP-Kevin Brown (1-0) LP-Jack McDowell (0-1) Sv-Billy Wagner (2)
HR- Reggie Jackson, (1), Cal Ripken (1), Chipper Jones (1)