Welcome to Pinstripe Alley’s coverage of the 2026 World Baseball Classic! We previewed Pool A, Pool B, Pool C, and Pool D in the linked articles. Since the first several days of the WBC feature a bevy of games, we’ll be recapping them in batches. Enjoy!
It was wall-to-wall baseball on Friday, the WBC truly exploding into action with eight games on the docket. Tournament favorites USA and Dominican Republic both opened their tournaments with statement wins, their star-studded lineups combining for 27 runs. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s jump right in.
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Pool A: Puerto Rico (1-0) 5, Colombia (0-1) 0
Brilliant pitching by the Puerto Rico staff and a five-run fifth inning outburst by their offense told the whole story of this game. 2024 Al Cy Young runner-up Seth Lugo was on the mound for Puerto Rico and he already looked to be in midseason form, leaning on his nine-pitch arsenal to twirl four scoreless innings with Colombia scattering just three hits and a pair of walks. The six relievers that trailed him out of the bullpen followed suit, combining for six scoreless innings allowing just three hits and three walks. Colombia’s best chance to score came in the eighth when they loaded the bases with two outs, but Yankees setup man Fernando Cruz induced a Jordan Diaz fly out to end the threat. Newly-minted Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz stamped an exclamation mark at the end, striking out the side after a leadoff single to nail down the combined shutout, exorcising some of the demons of the season-ending knee injury he suffered during the last WBC.
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The Puerto Rico offense is seriously neutered after the likes of Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, and others found themselves unable to participate in the tournament after failing to secure insurance. It certainly looked the case, the Colombia pitchers facing the minimum in seven out of the nine innings. However, that didn’t prevent them from exploding for five runs in the fifth after they got into the Colombia bullpen, the newest Rockies starter Jose Quintana having thrown three scoreless to start the game. Carlos Cortes and Darell Hernaiz led off with a pair of singles, the former scoring on a Gio Urshela fielding error at third on an Emmanuel Rivera grounder. Eddie Rosario followed with a single of his own to plate Hernaiz, and after a Matthew Lugo groundout, Martín Maldonado came through with the fourth single of the frame to score Rivera. Following a pitching change, Willi Castro doubled to right to bring Rosario home and advance Maldonado to third, who was then able to jog home on a Heliot Ramos sac fly to deep right.
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Pool A: Dominican Republic (1-0) 12, Nicaragua (0-1) 3
Cristopher Sánchez finished runner-up to Paul Skenes in last year’s NL Cy Young balloting, but you wouldn’t have known it from the way he struggled against Nicaragua in the early innings of this game. He loaded the bases surrendering two singles and a walk with one out in the first, and though a strikeout-wild pitch allowed the opening run of the game to score, it also allowed Sánchez to become one of a few pitchers in WBC history to record four strikeouts in an inning. His offense grabbed the lead in the bottom half on a Ketel Marte RBI double and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. RBI groundout, only for Sánchez to cough it back up in the second. Cristian Sandoval led off with a single, Freddy Zamora doubled him home, and a Chase Dawson single to left and subsequent fielding error from Juan Soto plated Zamora as Nicaragua retook the lead.
From that point on, it was all Dominican Republic. Julio Rodríguez leveled the scores at three apiece with a two-out RBI single in the third. Junior Caminero gave his team their second lead with a two-run bomb in the sixth after Manny Machado led off with a double.
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Vlad drove in his second run of the game in the seventh with a sac fly with the bases loaded, though Caminero left the bases juiced when he grounded into the inning-ending double play. It all proved a prelude to the DR’s six-run eighth to make a laugher out of a game that was close throught the first five innings. Rodríguez kicked things off with a leadoff home run and Oneil Cruz — pinch-hitting for Marte — followed with a 450-foot, three-run missile to right after Geraldo Perdomo walked and Fernando Tatis Jr. singled. Soto walked and Vlad collected his third RBI with a double to left, and after Machado drew a walk, Rodríguez came to bat for the second time in the inning, picking up his third RBI of the contest with a single to drive Vlad home.
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Pool A: United States (1-0) 15, Brazil (0-1) 5
You want your captain to set the tone in tournament opener, so of course Aaron Judge homered in his first ever WBC at-bat. Judge declined to participate in the last tournament, but was the first player to commit to the team this time around, manager Mark DeRosa hand-selecting the three-time AL MVP to be the team captain, a role he already holds with the Yankees. After Bobby Witt Jr. singled to open the contest, Judge got the green light, 3-0, and leaned on a sweeper right down the middle, sending it 405 feet into the stands in right for a two-run blast.
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They had to feel good handing a two-run lead to one of the most consistent starters in MLB over the last few years in Logan Webb. It took him a batter to settle into his outing, surrendering a leadoff home run to Lucas Ramirez — at 20 years old the youngest of Manny Ramirez’s three sons — but Webb would then retire the next 12 batters he faced, six by strikeout. It was certainly a day to remember for the Ramirez the younger, the High-A right fielder in the Angels system smacking his second solo shot of the game in the eighth off Michael Wacha, this pair of home runs made all the more remarkable by the fact that Ramirez has all of three home runs to his name in his professional career.
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Ramirez wasn’t the only son of a former big leaguer to impress for Brazil. Joseph Contreras is the son of former Yankees pitcher Jose Contreras, and at just 17 years old he is still a senior in high school in Georgia. However, he seemed unfazed by the moment, pumping in 97 mph fastballs and a nasty vulcan grip forkball right out of his father’s playbook. With the bases loaded in second, he broke Judge’s bat, getting the USA captain to ground into the inning-ending double play.
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Other than a Victor Mascai two-run homer in the seventh off Gabe Speier to briefly make a contest of this game, those were about all the highlights for Brazil. A super-patient approach by the entire US lineup, a home plate umpire whose zone clearly favored the home team, and a trepidatious Brazil pitching staff terrified of making mistakes in the zone combined to create one of the most remarkable (and admittedly painful) on-base displays in recent WBC memory. The US lineup combined to draw 17 walks including five free passes/hit-by-pitches with the bases loaded. Brazil’s nine pitchers combined to throw 221 pitches, and you seriously worry how they are going to make it through pool play.
USA’s biggest outburst came in the fifth and ninth, when they scored four and seven runs, respectively. Brice Turang’s three-run double was the big blow in the fifth — part of a 3-for-6 day with four RBIs for the Brewers infielder. Kyle Schwarber and Roman Anthony each contributed a pair of singles, the latter driving in a pair on the night. Judge finished the day 1-for-4 with the homer, two walks, two RBIs, and three runs scored.
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It was hardly a flawless performance from Team USA, with the offense going 5-for-21 with runners in scoring position and stranding 13 men on base. However, this patient approach looks like it can grind down any pitching staff, and we see the offense they are capable of at the end of games. (Shoutout to Brazil and anyone who had them out-homering the US on their bingo card.)
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Pool A: Chinese Taipei (1-2) 14, Czech Republic (0-3) 0
The nightcap featured the two early doormats of the tournament, and poor Czechia can’t catch a break. After some strange scheduling conspired to have them play a day game after a night game (both losses), they found themselves on the receiving end of a drubbing by Chinese Taipei, themselves still smarting from getting mercy ruled by Japan earlier in the day.
Chinese Taipei ambushed Czechia starter Jan Novak for six runs in the first two innings and continued to pour it one from their as Czechia’s offense simply had no answer. Tsung-Che Cheng and Stuart Fairchild singled to open the contest. A double steal attempt and throwing error by the catcher allowed Cheng to score the game’s opening run, and a Yu Chang single plated Fairchild as the second run of the frame. In the second, Chen-Wei Chen singled while Tsung-Che Cheng and Cheng-Hui Sung drew a pair of two-out walks, setting up a Fairchild grand slam, a feat he never achieved in his 277 major league games.
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After a brief reprieve in the third, Chinese Taipei put their foot back on the accelerator in the fourth. Chang drove in another pair that frame one a two-out line drive single to center, and then in the fifth, Lyle Lin doubled to lead off, advanced to third on a Kun-Yu Chiang single, and scored on a Chen sac fly. That set up a five-run blitz in the sixth that brought this game to a merciful end for the Czechs. Fairchild drew a leadoff walk, stole second, and scored on a single from Chang, his fourth RBI of the contest. Czech relievers then plunked back-to-back hitters to load the bases, after which a Chiang walk plated a run and a Chen double brought home a further pair. Cheng rolled over a soft grounder to score the 14th and final run of the game, which ended after seven innings thanks to the mercy rule in effect for the tournament.
It’s another action-packed day of baseball on Saturday, with another eight-game slate for all our enjoyment. Just like we did yesterday, we will break down the recaps into two posts, one for the first four games of the day, followed by a recap of the four late games to run later on (likely tomorrow morning). Here’s what to look forward to today:
South Korea vs. Japan (Pool C)
Pitching matchup: RHP Young Pyo Ko vs. LHP Yusei Kikuchi
Time: 5:00 a.m. ET
TV: FS1
Venue: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Colombia vs. Canada (Pool A)
Pitching matchup: RHP Julio Teheran vs. RHP Michael Soroka
Time: 11:00 a.m. ET
TV: FS2
Venue: Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, PR
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Nicaragua vs. Netherlands (Pool D)
Pitching matchup: RHP Erasmo Ramírez vs. RHP Jaitoine Kelly
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV: Tubi
Venue: loanDepot park, Miami, FL
Brazil vs. Italy (Pool B)
Pitching matchup: TBD vs. LHP Sam Aldegheri
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
TV: Fox Sports App
Venue: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
Panama vs. Puerto Rico (Pool A)
Pitching matchup: RHP Ariel Jurado vs. LHP Eduardo Rivera
Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
Venue: Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, PR
Israel vs. Venezuela (Pool D)
Pitching matchup: RHP Ben Simon vs. LHP Enmanuel De Jesus
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS2
Venue: loanDepot park, Miami, FL
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Great Britain vs. United States (Pool B)
Pitching matchup: RHP Tyler Viza vs. LHP Tarik Skubal
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Venue: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
Chinese Taipei vs. South Korea (Pool C)
Pitching matchup: TBD
Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS2
Venue: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Read the full article here
