JOE PUETZ-USA TODAY SPORTS
The 2023 World Baseball Classic kicked off late Tuesday night in Pool A with Roger Bernandina leading the Kingdom of the Netherlands to a 4-2 win over Cuba in Taiwan. Yoenis Cespedes went 0-for-2 with two walks in the game.
Then on Wednesday morning in more Pool A action, Panama surprised the baseball world by blowing out Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) 12-5 behind two scoreless innings by starter Humberto Mejia and three runs knocked in by Jonathan Arauz. Both players are currently in the Mets organization. Former Met Ruben Tejada chipped in with two hits and a terrific defensive play at shortstop.
Pool B play begins tonight with Australia playing Korea in Japan.
Australia (0-0) vs Korea (0-0) – Pool B
LHP Jack O’Loughlin vs. RHP Young Pyo Ko
Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Wednesday, March 8, 10:00 PM, FS1
Australia enters the tournament as the No. 18 (of 20) in our WBC rankings given their limited big league and minor league experience. Team Australia is managed by former major league catcher Dave Nilsson. Former Mets pitcher Graeme Lloyd is the pitching coach for Australia.
The Korean team’s strength is up the middle with infielders Tommy Edman and Ha-Seong Kim as their double-play combo and KBO MVP Lee Jung-hoo in center field.
Panama (1-0) vs Netherlands (1-0) – Pool A
RHP Jaime Barria vs. RHP Shairon Martis
Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, Taichung, Taiwan
Wednesday, March 8, 11:00 PM, FS2
Panama plays again at 11:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday night after their 12-5 over Taiwan was completed around 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday morning. The right-handed Barria had a 2.61 ERA in 79 1/3 big league innings for the Angels last season.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands sends WBC-star Shairon Martis to the mound at 35 years old. Martis hasn’t played in affiliated ball since 2013, but become the first (and only) pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the World Baseball Classic back in 2006 against Panama.
China (0-0) vs Japan (0-0) – Pool B
LHP Xiang Wang vs. RHP Shohei Ohtani
Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Thursday, March 9, 5:00 AM, FS1
The team from China comes into the tournament as our No. 20 ranked team that features only one player currently slated to play affiliated ball in the US this season. That player is right-handed pitcher Alan Carter. Their manager, Dean Treanor, has a long career of coaching in the minor leagues in the US and was the Marlins bullpen coach from 2017-2019.
Japan, considered one of the favorites to win the WBC, is led by worldwide superstar Shohei Ohtani. Their strong pitching rotation also features major league star Yu Darvish, two-time Sawamura award winner Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and young phenom Roki Sasaki. Third baseman Munetaka Murakami leads the offense coming off setting the Japanese-born home run record in 2022 with 56 long balls.
Italy (0-0) vs Cuba (0-1) – Pool A
RHP Matt Harvey vs. LHP Roenis Elias
Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, Taichung, Taiwan
Thursday, March 9, 6:00 AM, Tubi
Manager Mike Piazza takes Team Italy to the field for their first game of the tournament with former Mets pitcher Matt Harvey getting the start. The Team Italy offense does have some big-league experience with Vinnie Pasquantino. David Fletcher, Nicky Lopez, and Andre Pallante.
This game sets up a matchup two of the Mets’ most important pieces of their 2015 World Series run with Harvey on the mound and Cespedes hitting in the middle of the lineup for Cuba.
