Miami. Thanks to a late comeback Puerto Rico keeps in the race for the final round at the 2013 World Baseball Classic. They defeated Italy on Wednesday at Marlins Park, eliminating the European champion. Now the focus will switch to the highly anticipated clash between Team USA and the Dominican Republic on Thursday evening. The winner will clinch a berth in the semi-finals, while the loser gets a second chance against Puerto Rico on Friday.
Second Round:
Puerto Rico 4 – Italy 3
Puerto Rico took advantage from a couple of defensive miscues and a three-run eighth to erase a 0-3 deficit in a 4-3 win over Italy on Wednesday at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. With the second straight one-run loss in the double elimination second round, the European Champion got eliminated, while Puerto Rico gets another opportunity to qualify for the final round. Yadier Molina had three hits for the team of manager Edwin Rodriguez. Anthony Rizzo drove in all three Italian runs with a double.
Outlook
Team USA and the Dominican Republic will take the field with a semi-final berth on line. Reigning National League Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey, who took the loss in USA’s matchup against Mexico in the WBC opener, will face Samuel Deduno, usually a middle reliever for the Minnesota Twins, in the duel of starting pitchers. 30,000 are expected in attendance for the marquee matchup at Marlins Park in Miami on Thursday evening. For the first time in the history of the World Baseball Classic both teams will meet in this tournament.
Japan and the Netherlands are already qualified for the final round, which will be played between Sunday, March 17 and Tuesday, March 19 at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Both teams have touched down in Arizona to play a couple of exhibition games. On Thursday the matchup between World Series champion San Francisco Giants and two-time World Baseball Classic winner Japan will have some attention even though it is only a training match. The Dutch team meanwhile added baseball’s top prospect Jurickson Profar to the final round roster due to Yurendell de Caster’s injury. They will face the Seattle Mariners on Thursday.
Schedule
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Second Round:
19:00 USA – Dominican Republic (Marlins Park in Miami, Florida)
Exhibition Games:
13:05 San Francisco Giants – Japan (Scottsdale, Arizona)
19:05 San Diego Padres – Netherlands (Peoria, Arizona)
(all times local)
Complete Schedule can be found at www.worldbaseballclassic.com.
The 2013 World Baseball Classic is officially sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). The winner will be named IBAF World Champion for the first time. The final round will be played at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California from March 17 to 19. More information including highlights can be found at www.worldbaseballclassic.com
