Lynne Sladky/Associated Press
The 2017 World Baseball Classic rolled on Saturday with a jam-packed schedule. The day's action included first-round play in Pools C and D and the start of the second round in Group E, which will produce two of the tournament's four semifinalists.
Saturday's marquee matchup featured the United States and the Dominican Republic. Justin Hartling of OddsShark noted the American and Dominican teams were listed as co-championship favorites coming into the fourth edition of the international baseball showcase.
Let's check out the complete list of games and scores from the first weekend day of competition, which will get updated through the conclusion of play. That's followed by a recap of each contest.
Saturday's WBC Schedule
| 2017 World Baseball Classic: March 11 Scores | ||
| Pool | Matchup | Result/Time (ET) |
| C | Colombia vs. Canada | 4-1 COL |
| D | Venezuela vs. Italy | 11-10 VEN |
| C | United States vs. Dominican Republic | 7-5 DR |
| D | Puerto Rico vs. Mexico | 9:30 p.m. |
| E | Cuba vs. Israel | 10 p.m. |
| WorldBaseballClassic.com | ||
Dominican Republic 7, United States 5
The Dominican Republic overcame a five-run deficit through the first 6.5 innings to earn a 7-5 victory over Team USA and clinch a berth in the second round of the WBC starting on March 14.
Seattle Mariners designated hitter Nelson Cruz capped off the Dominican rally with a three-run homer off Cleveland Indians reliever Andrew Miller in the bottom of the eighth, via the Mariners' official Twitter account:
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Starling Marte followed two batters later with a solo homer of his own to provide some insurance.
In defeat, Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman was terrific starting for Team USA. He allowed just three hits with four strikeouts in 4.2 shutout innings.
Brandon Crawford and Christian Yelich led the U.S. offense with two hits each. Crawford drove in a pair of runs, including the final one for Team USA on a sharp double in the top of the sixth that scored Giancarlo Stanton.
The Dominican bats would wake up starting in the sixth inning when Manny Machado crushed a solo home run deep into the Miami night.
All seven of the Dominican runs came in the final three innings, highlighted by the four-run eighth. The comeback offset an erratic start from Edinson Volquez, who allowed six hits and three runs (one earned) in 3.2 innings, and two errors in the third inning led to each of Team USA's first two runs.
With the exception of Jumbo Diaz, the Dominican bullpen was terrific in the win. Hector Neris, Fernando Abad, Hansel Robles, Alex Colome and Jeurys Familia combined to allow just one hit with three strikeouts and one walk in 4.2 innings.
The Dominican team knows it can rest easy during Sunday's game against Colombia with its spot secure.
Team USA, on the other hand, will have to knock off Canada in order to avoid having the tiebreaker game and potentially being sent home early.
Venezuela 11, Italy 10 (10 Innings)
A wild back-and-forth affair between Venezuela and Italy ultimately went Venezuela's way thanks to Martin Prado's go-ahead double in the top of the 10th inning.
The big story coming out of the game is one every Major League Baseball team dreads when its players are away from them. Kansas City Royals All-Star catcher Salvador Perez left the game in the bottom of the 10th inning with an apparent knee injury.
Drew Butera ran into Perez's knee while trying to slide into home plate. MLB Network's Heidi Watney reported Perez was unable to put weight on his left leg as a result of the play.
ESPN's Marly Rivera captured video of Perez in the dugout being helped to the locker room to get his knee looked at:
Before the unfortunate incident that knocked Perez out of the game, he looked like he was going to play the role of hero after hitting a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning.
It was a lead that wouldn't last because Italy would score two runs of its own in the bottom of the ninth thanks to a Chris Colabello RBI groundout and Gavin Cecchini RBI single.
Italy missed a golden opportunity to go 2-0 in its first two games. The Italian team jumped out to a 5-0 lead after four innings, knocking Venezuela starter Martin Perez out of the game in the fourth inning when he gave up four runs on six hits.
Venezuela scored the game's next eight runs to take an 8-5 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. Prado was the offensive star, going 5-for-5 with one walk, three RBI and one run scored.
Per ESPN Stats & Info, Prado did something on Saturday he's done once in his MLB career:
Moving ahead to the last full day of Pool D action on Sunday, Italy has to take on a Puerto Rico team that dominated Venezuela with just three hits allowed in an 11-0 win on Friday.
Venezuela can earn a spot in the Pool D final if it can defeat Mexico. Puerto Rico is the most likely opponent at this point, but it still has to knock off Mexico later tonight to ensure it will play on Monday.
Colombia 4, Canada 1
Atlanta Braves ace Julio Teheran and two relievers combined to hold Canada to one run on five hits as Colombia picked up a crucial victory in Pool C to keep its hopes of advancing alive.
Teheran allowed one run across five efficient innings of work. Yohan Pino of the Minnesota Twins organization added three innings of scoreless relief before Houston Astros farmhand Dayan Diaz struck out the side in the ninth to earn the save.
The brother tandem of Donovan and Jhonatan Solano led the offensive charge for the Colombians. Donovan (New York Yankees) notched two hits and a pair of runs batted in from the lead-off spot, while Jhonatan (Washington Nationals) went two for three with an RBI and a run scored.
MLB Network showcased the emotion after the team's first WBC victory:
Chicago Cubs prospect Ryan Kellogg took the loss for Canada, allowing the game-winning run in his only inning of work. Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman plated the Canadians' run with an RBI single off Teheran, his MLB teammate, in the first inning.
Chris Stiles of the Independent Mail noted those bragging rights will likely last for a while, though the pitcher's team did get the win in the end:
Looking ahead, Colombia's outlook will become more clear following the later game between the United States and the Dominican Republic.
If the U.S. wins, Sunday's game between Colombia and the Dominican Republic will be for a guaranteed spot in Round 2. If the Dominicans emerge victorious, the battle for the group's two berths will become less straightforward and could come down to tiebreakers.
