The field was halved Friday in the WBC, and once again Saturday, with a pair of impressive games and historic milestones for national baseball in Italy and Venezuela.
Yesterday’s matchups and how the Mariners performed:
Italy 8, Puerto Rico 6
The caffeinated fairy tale continues. Facing the ace of Team Puerto Rico in Royals starter Seth Lugo, Italy bounced back from a leadoff homer by PR star Willi Castro to stake a 4-1 lead after the first. While a bases-loaded HBP cut the score to 4-2 in the 2nd and ensured neither club’s starter recorded more than four outs, Italy’s lead swelled to a seemingly-insurmountable 8-2 in the 4th despite one of the more egregious fan interferences you’re likely to see. The threadbare Puerto Rican roster fought back ferociously, but came up just short against Red Sox reliever Jacob Weissert, who encored his shutdown performance in Italy’s upset of Team USA to cover the final 1.2 frames and send home the plucky Puerto Ricans 8-6.
The lone Mariner to play was Dominic Canzone notching a 1-for-3 night with two walks, two runs. That said, former M’s abounded in this one, with Yacksel Rios and Edwin Diaz working 1.2 combined scoreless frames for PR. Dan Altavilla was sterling in his inning for Italy, but Matt Festa ran into trouble with his command and was instrumental to the comeback effort that the Italians managed to quash. It’s Italy’s first trip to the semifinals in the WBC, while for Puerto Rico an exit earlier than hoped, but more than worthy of pride given the absence of 3-4 of the island’s stars.
Venezuela 8, Japan 5
What. A. Game. Attended by yours truly, I’m pleased to inform you all that this heavyweight bout was just as good as it appeared. The reigning WBC champs put their ace, and World Series MVP, Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the hill against Venezuela’s best hope – new Red Sox southpaw Ranger Suarez. Neither starter shone, with Suarez run after 2.2 thanks to homers from Shohei Ohtani and injury-replacement Shota Morishita, while Yamamoto hung on for four frames but could not go deep due to dangerous innings from the Venezuelans.
The game was a star turn for the left side of Venezuela’s infield, which saw Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia scorch the ball all night, sparking a comeback made possible by astounding work from the ostensible weakness of the Venezuela club: the pitching staff. Starting with Mariners reliever Eduard Bazardo, who staunched the bleeding for Suarez to conclude the third inning, not a single run crossed the plate in the potent Samurai Japan lineup. A collection of journeymen like Enmanuel De Jesus and Andres Machado, who’d last pitched in MLB in 2023, as well as bullpen arms of decent repute in Jose Butto and Angel Zerpa, afforded Wilyer Abreu the chance to blast the roof off loanDepot Park.
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Former Mariner Yusei Kikuchi kept things tight, but Japan could not find the answer for Cubs closer Daniel Palencia, and the raucous Miami crowd got to welcome Venezuela to the semifinals – and a clinched spot alongside Italy, U.S.A., and the Dominican Republic in the Olympics for baseball in 2028.
Venezuela will face Italy on Monday, March 16th at 5 PM PT on FS1, to determine who will play the winner of tonight’s matchup.
Today’s Semifinal Matchup:
United States at Dominican Republic: 5 PM PT, FS1 – loanDepot Park, Miami, FL
Pitching probables: Paul Skenes for USA, Luis Severino for DR
I implore you. Watch this game. Give yourself a gift, as we all have been. Find a bar, or a friend, or a Fubo free trial. This is what this tournament is all about. What baseball is capable of. The most imposing lineup in the world for the Dominican Republic faces the most difficult pitcher to hit in the world in Paul Skenes.
Winner goes to the Championship Game, which will be held on March 17 at 5 PM PT on FOX.
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