Australia 8 - 7 Korea
Crikey! The first major upset of the 2023 World Baseball Classic is in the books and as was the case in 2017, it came at the expense of the Koreans. Oz struck first with a run in the fourth and one in the fifth to which the Koreans replied with a three-spot in the bottom of the fifth courtesy catcher Yang Euiji who'll return to Doosan Bears for this KBO season after a few years with NC Dinos. Another Korean run in the sixth meant the Austin's trailed 4-2 going into the seventh. No matter. Robbie Glendenning homered as Tim Kennely had in the fourth to flip the script. 5-4 Australia. Another three run salvo by Robbie Perkins in the eighth proved to be the decisive blow. Josh Guyer hung on for the save and a historic victory for Team Australia is in the books.
The bullpen did Korea in today. Ko Young-Pyo was ok, not great. He did give up two runs in 4.1 innings but did strike out four. However, it was very hard to piece the rest of the game together and they paid the price. Yang was the star offensively with a three-run homer but Park Byung-Ho also drove in two. Offense was not an issue but baserunning goofs certainly were. Kang Baek-Ho went viral for all the wrong reasons by doubling, straying off the bag whilst celebrating his double and getting tagged out with his team trailing 5-4. Korea lost 8-7. To add insult to injury, a failed stolen base attempt by Tommy Edman ended the game.
Australia meets China next. A win there puts them in a nice position to try and advance out of Pool play as they so nearly did in 2017, just losing out to Cuba. A stunned Korea will probably need a result against Japan now. They will likely have to sink Yu Darvish and that will not be easy. Plus they have no further room for error now. The favorite WBC grudge match gains another element of intrigue.
Netherlands 3 - 1 Panama
Another well pitched game for a Dutch squad known more for its bats. An old friend rose to the occasion for them. Sharon Martis no-hit Panama back in the 2006 WBC. Not today, but he was solid; solid enough to pitch three shutout and get a win. Xander drove in his first run by going deep and Jurickson Profar also opened his RBI account. Wendell Floranus earned his second save of the tournament and cemented himself as an early candidate for reliever of the tournament. The Dutch bullpen pitched 5.2 innings of one run relief in the win to add to the six innings of one run ball they logged against Cuba.
Panama pitched well against a strong Dutch offense but the bats were largely quiet. The only run driven in came through Panamanian league standout Ernesto Caballero. Angel Jaime Barria was okay in the loss but not especially sharp with four walks.
The Kingdom Of The Netherlands now stands 2-0 with good chances of being kings of Pool A. They get a Taiwan squad that struggled against Panama, especially with the pitching. The Dutch also get a day off ahead of that tilt. Panama has a quick turnaround to play a struggling, but now desperate Cuba. A win for Panama would give them control over their destiny as far progressing is concerned. That would be a historic feat for a nation that came into the 2023 WBC having never won a game here and having not qualified since 2009.
Japan 8 - 1 China
This game was both more and less lopsided than the final scoreline indicates. On one hand, Japan drew sixteen walks and logged nine hits with China having to escape jam after jam with their own bats logging three hits for the whole game. On the other hand, Japan were rather wasteful with runners in scoring position and China could well have tied the game as late as the seventh inning. Ultimately, the result was a fair reflection of both these realities.
The two best Japanese players, both named Shohei Ohtani, pitched four scoreless innings with only one hit allowed and five punchouts whilst also driving in two runs, scoring twice and drawing two walks. Lars Nootbaar scored two himself becoming the first American born Team Japan player at a WBC. Catcher Takuya Kai drove in two late as Japan pulled away. On the mound, Shosei Togo struck seven in three innings but also coughed up a homer for China’s only run. Japan was dominant on the mound overall but hitters left sixteen runners on base.
China hung in there for much of the game. Pei Liang’s homer off Togo will be a moment he will cherish forever and it did give China some hope making the score 3-1 at the time. However, they were largely out of their league against Japanese pitching otherwise, especially against you know who. The pitchers did get off a bit easy given how many walks they were issuing but that was largely a product of Japanese largesse with runners on.
Japan has a grudge match with Korea next. They will no doubt relish the opportunity to put their Asian rivals on the brink of elimination. They also want to get this game in the bag for sure to all but secure a spot in the next round. China gets to welcome the Czechs to the WBC. It’s their best chance at getting a win and they do have many of their better pitchers available for this game.
Italy 6 - 3 Cuba
The first extra inning game of the tournament resulted in victory for Mike Piazza’s Italian squad. It was a hard fought, tense affair, very much worthy of a World Baseball Classic. For Italy, a key win to give themselves a great chance of advancing. On the other hand, Cuba are 0-2 for the first time at a WBC and have one foot out the door now.
Gotham’s old favorite Matt Harvey gave Italy three scoreless to start the game. Andre Pallante gave them the next two, also scoreless. A Brett Sullivan sac fly in the sixth broke the deadlock in favor of Italy with Miles Mastrobuoni doubling the lead with an RBI double the following inning. Cuba would claw back a run in the bottom of the seventh and tie it of Seattle’s Matt Festa in the eighth. Italy would explode in the 10th though, scoring four times with a Nicky Lopez two-run single punctuating the assault. Cuba would get a run back in the bottom of the tenth but fall short for a 6-3 final score.
Cuba again struggled to generate much at the plate. It’s a shame given their strong pitching so far. That is the key to their poor start ultimately. They have not hit well, especially in key spots. Cuba left nine men on base and Roenis Elias saw his five shutout innings all but go to waste. They loaded the bases multiple times too and failed to break through. Errisel Arruebarrena did come through in a big spot, tying the game in the eighth to force extras and Livan Moinelo looked sharp again. Raidel Martinez was electric but was ultimately pinned with the loss allowing the ghost runner to score in the tenth.
Italy look to move to 2-0 against a Team Taiwan that is under the gun after a poor debut at home. A win there makes moving on a distinct possibility with Cuba fading from the picture. Cuba needs help now to avoid bombing out in round one for the first time. First, they must help themselves by beating Panama. Failure to do so seals their fate as first round fodder. Their big bats, Robert, Moncada, Despaigne et al, need to show up for this game or 0-3 is a very distinct possibility for a team that is proving that a poor 2017 WBC showing was sadly a sign of things to come.
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