Nolan McLean’s first start of the World Baseball Classic didn’t go as planned. He gave up a pair of home runs and was pulled after just three innings, getting charged with the loss in Team USA’s 8-6 defeat at the hands of Italy. On Tuesday night, McLean took the mound with a chance to give the Americans a gold medal, and while the team fell short, his results were encouraging....
Team Venezuela is the 2026 World Baseball Classic champion. Venezuela struck first in the top of the third. After McLean gave up a single to Salvador Perez and a walk to Ronald Acuna Jr., a wild pitch allowed the runners to advance into scoring position. Maikel Garcia then took advantage and hit a sacrifice fly to center field that drove in a run and made it a 1-0 lead for Venezuela. McLean...
Good morning, Mets fans! On Friday night, Team USA defeated Team Canada 5-3 in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals. Brice Turang and Pete Crow-Armstrong provided support at the bottom of the lineup, each recording two hits and an RBI. Team USA will face the formidable Team Dominican Republic on Sunday at 8 p.m. with a spot in the WBC championship game on the...
After an upset loss at the hands of Team Italy in their last game of pool play on Tuesday, Team USA had its backs against the walls with its destiny for the remainder of the 2026 World Baseball Classic out of its control. Luckily for them, Italy kept them alive after they defeated Team Mexico by a score of 9-1 on Wednesday night. Now, the United States have new life in the tournament and are set...
The World Baseball Classic is down to its elite eight and every game from here on out is single elimination. (Mark DeRosa, do not bench any stars.) Also, 17 Mets (including minor leaguers) were on WBC rosters at the outset and now a lucky seven still have a chance for a ring. Friday’s games Korea vs. Dominican Republic at loanDepot park in Miami, 6:30 p.m. ET on FS2 Korea is the only team...
Less than one year after making his MLB debut for the Mets, Nolan McLean got his first start for Team USA in a World Baseball Classic matchup against Italy on Tuesday. He started the first inning by pitching exactly how many expected: striking out the side on 11 pitches. However, the second inning was a tale of two innings. Things unraveled for McLean in inning number two after getting the first...
First, a confession. Prior to last Friday night, I had never watched a full inning of a World Baseball Classic game. After going to two games over the weekend, I am looking forward to my next one. Pre-Game The experience, however, started off poorly. There is a list of 17 instruments that are allowed at the WBC and it includes bongos, tambourines, trumpets and trombones. There is also a list of...
Good morning, Mets fans! Freddy Peralta, the new Mets ace, is reportedly seeking a deal of seven or eight years in extension talks with the Mets. Peralta, 29, was acquired from Milwaukee this offseason and is line for a big payday. The former Brewer went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 2025 and will look to be just as productive leading the Mets’ rotation in 2026. WBC Results Venezuela 6 –...
Though the World Baseball Classic officially began earlier this week with Australia’s shutout 3-0 victory over Chinese Taipei at the Tokyo Dome, Friday marked the first full slate of the event this year. Japan opened the day with a 13-0 win over Chinese Taipei that was highlighted by a grand slam from Shohei Ohtani in Pool C, while Cuba, Venezuela and Mexico notched victories over Panama,...
Team Panama haven’t had an easy road during the World Baseball Classic. They’ve yet to make it out of group play and with a strong group of MLB prospects and players on their roster this year, they hope to make this the year they make it into round two. They come into this year’s tournament ranked No. 8 in the world, opposed to No. 12 where they sat in 2023. MLB PLAYERS Panama’s 2026 World...
If this tournament existed last century, Team Cuba might have won it a few times. The Cubans won gold at the Olympics for baseball in 1992, 1996 and 2004 and took silver in 2000 and 2008. In the WBC, they have gotten as far as the finals. Notable Players Yariel Rodriguez made 21 starts for the 2024 Blue Jays (4.47 ERA) and transitioned well to the bullpen in 2025 (3.08 ERA, 73 strikeouts in 66...
Chinese Taipei, per Jordan Shusterman of Yahoo! Sports, includes nine players in MLB organizations and more players on MLB Pipeline’s top 30 team prospect lists than any other team in the tournament. Notable Players Setting an example for the youngsters will be infielder Yu Chang, who became the first Chinese Taipei player to make an all-WBC tournament team in 2023 when he went 7-for-16...
