Puerto Rico pulled off a thrilling 6-5 win over the United States Friday night locking them into the World Baseball Classic semifinals and setting the U.S. up for a do or die situation against the Dominican Republic on Sunday.
A two-run triple by Brandon Crawford in the ninth inning Friday cut Puerto Rico’s lead to just a single run but Edwin Diaz struck out Josh Harrison to end the threat and the game.
Puerto Rico plated four runs in the first inning thanks to six straight hits. The U.S. would battle back however until a two-run error by third baseman Nolan Arenado in the sixth extended Puerto Rico’s lead to 6-3.
Puerto Rico joins Japan and the Netherlands in the WBC semifinals. The final spot will come down to Saturday’s matchup between the United States and the Dominican Republic who are both 1-1 in Pool F play. The Dominican Republic defeated the United States 7-5 in the first meeting between the two clubs.
Pool F schedule for Saturday, March 18
Puerto Rico vs. Venezuela
Location: San Diego
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: MLB Network
Streaming: MLB.TV
USA vs. Dominican Republic
Location: San Diego
Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
TV: MLB Network
Streaming: MLB.tv
Full World Baseball Classic Schedule, Results and Standings
Second Round
WBC Pool E
Date | Team | vs. | Team | Time | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Team | vs. | Team | Time | Venue |
March 11 | Cuba (1) | vs. | Israel (4) | Tokyo | |
March 12 | Japan (8) | vs. | Netherlands (6) | Tokyo | |
March 13 | Netherlands (12) | vs. | Israel (2) | Tokyo | |
March 14 | Cuba (5) | vs. | Japan (8) | Tokyo | |
March 14 | Netherlands (14) | vs. | Cuba (1) | Tokyo | |
March 15 | Israel (3) | vs. | Japan (8) | Tokyo |
Pool E Standings
Rank | Team | W | L | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Team | W | L | Notes |
1 | Japan | 3 | 0 | Advanced |
2 | Netherlands | 2 | 1 | Advanced |
3 | Israel | 1 | 2 | |
4 | Cuba | 0 | 3 |
WBC Pool F
Date | Team | vs. | Team | Time | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Team | vs. | Team | Time | Venue |
March 14 | Dominican Republic (1) | vs. | Puerto Rico (3) | Petco Park | |
March 15 | Venezuela (2) | vs. | United States (4) | Petco Park | |
March 16 | Venezuela (0) | vs. | Dominican Republic (3) | Petco Park | |
March 17 | United States (5) | vs. | Puerto Rico (6) | Petco Park | |
March 18 | Puerto Rico (13) | vs. | Venezuela (2) | Petco Park | |
March 18 | United States (6) | vs. | Dominican Republic (3) | Petco Park |
Pool F Standings
Rank | Team | W | L |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | Team | W | L |
1 | Puerto Rico | 3 | 0 |
2 | United States | 2 | 1 |
3 | Dominican Republic | 1 | 2 |
4 | Venezuela | 0 | 3 |