World Baseball Classic highlights: Group play wraps with Pool C, Pool D
Group play in the 2023 World Baseball Classic came to a close Wednesday with a pair of games in both Pool C and D.
Up first, Pool D group play took center stage, as Venezuela took care of Israel in the day's first game.
Later, Pool C was in action when Mexico hung 10 runs on Canada, followed by Puerto Rico's advancement to the quarterfinals against the Dominican Republic in the second Pool D game. The United States won a close one over Colombia to close things out in Pool C, and keep their championship bid alive.
Group play for Pool A, which took place in Taichung, Taiwan, wrapped Sunday, with Cuba and Italy advancing to the quarterfinals. Elsewhere, in Tokyo, group play for Pool B wrapped earlier Monday, with Japan and Australia advancing.
The WBC began March 7 and will end on March 21 with the championship game (Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET, FS1) in Florida. Quarterfinal games will take place March 15-18, followed by the semifinals from March 19-20.
Games are airing across FOX, FS1, FS2 and are available to stream on the FOX Sports app. View the full schedule here.
Here are the top plays!
FINAL: United States 3, Colombia 2 (Pool C)
Three-bagger!
Mike Trout may be over a decade into his career, but the man still gets it done at an elite level. One of the greatest to do it kicked things off for the U.S. with a trademark triple.
Captain America
The U.S. was unable to capitalize on Trout's triple in the first, but he took matters into his own hands in the third, poking a single up the middle to score Mookie Betts.
Off the wall!
Reynaldo Rodriguez put Colombia up 2-1 after he smoked a ball off the center field wall in the bottom of the third.
Gone fishin'
Well, we know Team USA's favorite seafood dish. Trout helped himself to another serving at the dish with his third hit of the game, this time a two-RBI single to give his team a 3-2 edge.
Down in order
Relief pitcher Jason Adam came made quick work of the Colombian offense in the seventh, striking out three batter in a row to keep the U.S. ahead.
That's it!
Although he allowed a baserunner, closer Ryan Pressly showed immense poise in the ninth, striking out Colombia's final batter with a nasty breaking ball to help Team USA advance.
FINAL: Puerto Rico 5, Dominican Republic 2 (Pool D)
Wheelin' and dealin'
Dominican Republic starting pitcher Johnny Cueto had the Miami crowd absolutely rockin' after a smooth 1-2-3 inning to start things off.
Outta here!
After two scoreless innings, Christian Vazquez put Puerto Rico up 1-0 with a mammoth homer in the third.
Lindy!
The Puerto Rican squad kept rolling from there, as Francisco Lindor slapped in a run with a tough liner to put it up 2-0.
Three on the board!
Kiké Hernandez pushed Puerto Rico up 3-0 with a screaming liner down the third base line, capitalizing on the team's momentum in the third inning.
Bye-bye ball
Juan Soto's got a penchant for big flies, and this certainly was a big fly. His solo shot helped The Dominican Republic get on the board in the bottom of the third.
Fly Lindy fly!
We knew Francisco Lindor could run. But we didn't know his wheels moved quite like this. The smilin' Puerto Rican made the trip around the bases the hard way to extend P.R.'s lead.
Enter Edwin
In the bottom of the ninth, Timmy Trumpet sounded off, and Edwin Diaz came strolling onto the field to close it out …
… and as he generally does. he delivered, stumping The D.R. with a stellar display of mound work to seal Puerto Rico's win, and help them advance to the quarterfinal.
Diaz injured
But during his celebration, Diaz went down with an injury and had to be assisted by medical personnel. The emotional moment brought his brother Alexis to tears.
Start it up
Mexico's bats were on fire early, and the team jumped all over Canada to seize momentum in the first inning.
Keep it going!
There's may not be a hotter player in the Classic than Randy Arozarena, and he came up big in multiple critical spots again for the Mexican squad to extend its lead.
And Arozarena's efforts bought him a unique chance to sign a custom-made glove. We're not quite sure how this person got it in the ballpark, though.
Rowdy Rebel
Rowdy Tellez left the yard late in the game, and received perhaps the best reward he could've asked for: A home run sombrero.
El Abusador
They don't call him "The Abuser" for no reason. And Ronald Acuña Jr. put a hurting on Israel's defense the first chance he got, plating a run to put the Venezuelan team up early.
The team continued swinging the bats with fervor in the first, taking hold of a 3-0 edge with the bases jacked in the first.
Immaculate vibes
The Venezuelan troupe was having a blast in the dugout as they closed out their emphatic win over Israel.
Read more:
- World Baseball Classic: Top sights, sounds, celebrations thus far
- WBC Daily: What happened in all eight games Saturday
- Team USA isn't WBC favorite, but boasts its best roster in years
