All the matches in the first round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) finals have been completed.
From the opening game between the Netherlands and Cuba held at the Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan on the 8th (Korean time) to the match between the United States and Colombia held at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, USA on the 16th, all group stage matches were over.
In Group A, 5 teams competed fiercely. The Netherlands, Chinese Taipei, Italy, Cuba and Panama all recorded 2 wins and 2 losses. If there is a tie in the first round, the ranking is calculated in the order of winner, win, minimum run rate, minimum earned run rate, and team batting average. In a situation where a winner is meaningless, Cuba, with the lowest conceding rate, took first place and Italy took second place. Cuba started by losing to the Netherlands and Italy, but advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Panama and Chinese Taipei.메이저사이트
In Group B, a surprise was created. Korea, Japan, Australia, the Czech Republic and China were in the group. Japan advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-1 victory, while Australia finished second in the group with 3 wins and 1 loss. In 2013 and 2017, Korea, which failed to pass the first round, lost 7-8 to Australia and 4-13 to Japan. They caught the Czech Republic and China, but stayed in third place and were eliminated in the first round three times in a row.
In Group C, Mexico and the United States laughed. Mexico got off to a shaky start, losing 4-5 in its first match against Colombia, but advanced to the quarterfinals with a 3-1 win over the United States, Great Britain and Canada. The U.S. defeated Colombia 3-2 in their last match to earn their ticket to the final quarterfinals.
In Group D, Venezuela and Puerto Rico passed the group stage. Venezuela defeated the strong favorite Dominican Republic from the first game. After winning over Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, and Israel, they advanced to the quarterfinals with four wins. Puerto Rico won 5-2 in their last game against the Dominican Republic to secure second place. However, during the ceremony for advancing to the quarterfinals, finishing pitcher Edwin Diaz suffered a knee injury, making it difficult to laugh.
The first match of the quarterfinals between Australia and Cuba, held at the Tokyo Dome in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo on the 15th, ended with Cuba winning 4-3. The second match of the quarterfinals between Italy and Japan will be held at Tokyo Dome at 7:00 pm on the 16th. The teams that advance to the semifinals will go to Londipo Park in Miami, Florida, USA, to play in the semifinals.
The match between the United States and Venezuela and between Puerto Rico and Mexico will be held on the 18th and 19th at Rondipo Park, respectively.
The winner of the match between the United States and Venezuela will meet Cuba in the semifinals. The winner of the match between Italy and Japan will face the winner of the match between Puerto Rico and Mexico in the semifinals.