The 2009 World Baseball Classic continues this evening with three games in Pools B to D. Only one more spot is open in round two. Australia and Mexico battle at the Foro Sol Stadium in Mexico City to advance besides Cuba to San Diego, facing Japan and Korea in the next round. Venezuela, Team USA, the Netherlands and Puerto Rico play for first seeds tonight.
World Baseball Classic Schedule for Wednesday, March 11:
10.30pm CET WBC Pool D: Puerto Rico – Netherlands
(Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico, ESPN America, ESPN2, MLB.tv live)
Only about 24 hours after shocking the Baseball world with an amazing 2-1 victory, the Netherlands take on Puerto Rico on Wednesday evening to determine first place in Pool D. Both teams met on Monday with Puerto Rico rallying late to win 3-1. The winner will face the second seed from Pool C on Saturday, which will be decided between Team USA and Venezuela. It will be interesting to see, if the Dutch team can focus and found some sleep after such an emotional win.
Their batters will hope for hits against left-handed pitcher Jonathan Sanchez of the San Francisco Giants. Additionally the rotation behind the plate Puerto Rico’s continues with Geovany Soto of the Chicago Cubs getting the start. The heroes of their first two victories Ivan Rodriguez and Yadier Molina likely will split time as designated hitter. Netherlands manager Rod Delmonico didn’t know yesterday evening, who will start today, jokingly suggested pitching coach Bert Blyleven as probable hurler. Berry van Driel and Pim Walsma weren’t used the past two days and could be options to start.
11.30pm CET WBC Pool C: USA – Venezuela
(Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada, ESPN America (coverage starts at 1.30am CET), MLB Network, MLB.tv)
After two off days Team USA faces a familiar foe in the Pool C finale. They face the same squad; they beat on Sunday 15-6 to advance into round two. Venezuela followed through yesterday’s 10-1 win over Italy. Ted Lilly of the Chicago Cubs will start for the Americans. The left-hander is familiar with the Rogers Centre in Toronto, as he pitched for the Blue Jays between 2004 and 2006. Jeremy Guthrie, the fourth starting pitcher on the roster, is scheduled to follow. Due to the off days it is more than likely that manager Davey Johnson will use most of his players on the roster to stay in shape for round two. Venezuela’s manager Luis Sojo appointed Victor Zambrano as starting pitcher. He gave up four runs on Sunday in one-plus innings of relief against Team USA.
Thursday, 3am CET WBC Pool B: Australia – Mexico
(Foro Sol Stadium, Mexico City, Mexico, ESPN America, MLB Network, MLB.tv)
A few days ago we reported in our preview series that Mexico likely is favored over Australia. This has changed since then. First the Aussies won the opener in Pool B with a stunning 17-7 score against Mexico. On Tuesday they had the Cuban team in the ropes, leading 4-3, going into the eighth inning, but lost on a pinch hit homerun by Yosbany Peraza. Mexico came back after loss, defeating South Africa 14-3, setting up tonight’s meeting. The winner is going to San Diego, the loser home.