Team USA is going to the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic! If you're confused as to why that statement needs an exclamation mark, it's because the Americans faced a nightmare scenario that could have knocked them out. Fortunately, Italy beat Mexico on Wednesday to seal the deal for Mark DeRosa and his team (sparing the manager specifically a whole lot of embarrassment).
Captain Aaron Judge and co. compiled a 3-1 record with wins over Brazil (15-5), Great Britain (9-1) and Mexico (5-3). Their loss to Italy (8-6) on Tuesday put them in peril because a 3-1 tie between Italy, Mexico and the U.S. would have come down to tiebreakers that didn't favor the Americans. In the end, there was no need to worry.
Who does Team USA play next in the World Baseball Classic?
Team USA will run into another North American rival in the next round of the WBC. Canada is locked in for a matchup in Houston.
Canada was in Pool A with Puerto Rico, Panama, Cuba and Columbia. They topped the group at 3-1 on the strength of their head-to-head 3-2 win over the Puerto Ricans. Their only loss was to Panama, 4-3.
The last time Team USA faced their neighbors to the North was in the WBC in 2023. It was a rout with the U.S. winning 12-1. Their 2017 matchup didn't go much different with an 8-0 win for the Americans.
Updated World Baseball Classic bracket: Quarterfinal matchups
Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
South Korea vs. Dominican Republic | March 13 (Miami) |
Puerto Rico vs. Italy | March 13/14 (Houston) |
USA vs. Canada | March 13/14 (Houston |
Venezuela vs. Japan | March 14 (Miami |
WBC semifinal matchups:
- South Korea/Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico/Italy —March 15 (Miami)
- USA/Canada vs. Venezuela/Japan — March 15 (Miami)
The WBC final will be played on March 17 in Miami.
Team USA's path to the WBC Championship
Team USA will need to get through Canada first. Then they would face the winner of the game between Venezuela and Japan. Japan will be the favorite to beat the Venezuela. That would set up a juicy rematch, but it would only be a semifinal matchup.
The 2023 WBC finished in epic fashion with Japan's Shohei Ohtani and America's Mike Trout facing off for the final, decisive out of the game. Then Angels teammates, Ohtani and Trout dramatically dueling to a 3-2 count in a 3-2 game with two outs. Ohtani struck Trout out swinging to win it all.
So yeah, it's a bummer we can't get that in a WBC Final again. There would still be an incredible amount of hype around that matchup if we get it.
Should the U.S. make it past Japan, they would face one of South Korea, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Italy. A rematch with the Italians would have plenty of storylines considering their last meeting in the pool stage as well as the numerous Italian-American MLB players in the lineup.