Canada Edges Puerto Rico 3-2, Sets Up Win-Or-Go-Home Clash Against Cuba

[Jesse Burrill]

Image courtesy of © Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images

On Tuesday night, the World Baseball Classic featured a matchup between two of the top teams in Pool A. Puerto Rico entered the game 3-0, sitting atop the group, and was looking to maintain a perfect record through pool play. Standing in their way was Team Canada. After taking care of business against Colombia in Game One, Canada’s defence fell apart and the bats went quiet against Panama in Game Two, leaving them at 1-1. On paper, the game didn't carry the highest stakes. Puerto Rico had already clinched a quarterfinal berth, and Canada’s fate will ultimately be decided in Wednesday’s matchup against Cuba, regardless of Tuesday’s result.

Still, there was plenty to play for. A win would clinch the top spot in Pool A for Puerto Rico and send their home crowd of 18,997 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium happy. For Canada, the goal was to build confidence and carry momentum into their must-win game on Wednesday.

After a 50-minute rain delay, the field was ready, and it was time to play ball.

In the early going, Puerto Rico had the advantage. Their starter, Jose De Leon, retired Canada in order on just six pitches, and in the bottom half, their momentum kept rolling. Canada’s starter Jordan Balazovic walked the first two batters he faced, and he proceeded to face eight-time All-Star Nolan Arenado, who promptly hit an RBI single to right. Canadian centerfielder Denzel Clarke was able to throw out the trail runner at third, but the run would score, and Puerto Rico was quickly up 1-0

Canada would eventually push across three runs and lean on a dominant bullpen effort, capped by Brock Dykxhoorn’s three-inning save, to hold off Puerto Rico late and secure a 3-2 victory. Owen Caissie continued his strong tournament with another stellar performance (2-for-3, two doubles, walk) while a trio of hit batters and yet another rain delay added to the chaos of the night. The hometown Puerto Rican fans didn’t get the result they hoped for, but they were treated to an entertaining ballgame nonetheless. Here’s a look at the three biggest moments of the night by Baseball Savant's WPA.

3) Brock Dykxhoorn gets Eddie Rosario to flyout to lead off the 9th

If baseball had hockey's “three stars”, then Brock Dykxhoorn (a.k.a the big doctor) would certainly have been one of them. He entered the game with a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 7th and proceeded to send them nine up, nine down, not allowing Puerto Rico to start any form of rally.

The biggest of them all was in the bottom of the 9th against 1-year MLB veteran Eddie Rosario. After falling behind in the count 3-1, he was able to execute a fastball right on the corner that Rosario could only muster a soft fly ball to center. From there, Dykxhoorn kept rolling and earned the three-inning save.

2) Tyler Black bases-loaded walk to give Canada a 2-1 lead

It's not the most exciting play in baseball, but they don’t ask how; they just ask how many. After Canada had already plated one in the inning, there was a battle between hard-throwing right-hander Rico Garcia and Canada’s Tyler Black, after Garcia got ahead 1-2, Black battled, and after a nine-pitch at-bat that featured four foul balls, Black was able to lay off the fastball up and away and was awarded first base, and more importantly another run. Sometimes the bases-loaded walks are exciting.



1)  Tyler O'Neill bases-loaded walk to tie the game at 1

Just one at-bat prior to Black’s great at-bat to take the lead, it was up to Tyler O’Neill to do his job first. Rico Garcia had just entered the game after a two-out rally with two singles, and a Josh Naylor hit-by-pitch caused starter Jose De Leon to exit the game.

This at-bat felt very similar to Black’s. Garcia jumped ahead 0-2, and it looked like Puerto Rico may escape the inning unharmed. But O’Neill was able to stay disciplined, after a slider away and a fastball up the count was back even at 2-2, and Garcia threw sliders just off the plate, but to O’Neill’s credit, he laid off both of them, for his team-leading fifth walk of the tournament. Most importantly, it tied the ball game, and Canada was on the board.

What's Next?

For Canada, their tournament comes down to a must-win match-up against Cuba at 3 pm on Wednesday. The winner of that game will advance to the quarterfinals, while the loser will finish third in the pool and head home. Canada is 0-3 all-time in “win, and you're in” games at the tournament and will be looking to advance for the first time. Cuba, meanwhile, has reached the knockout round in every previous World Baseball Classic and will need a win on Wednesday to keep that streak alive.

For Puerto Rico, they now sit back and wait. They have already clinched their spot in the quarterfinals, but their opponent and seeding are still to be determined. If Canada beats Cuba on Wednesday, Canada will finish as the 1 seed, with Puerto Rico finishing as the 2 seed. If Cuba wins, Puerto Rico will be the 1 seed because it beat Cuba 4-1 earlier in the tournament.

The 1 seed in Pool A (Puerto Rico or Canada) will face the 2 seed in Pool B (Mexico, Italy, or USA), and the 2 seed in Pool A (Cuba or Puerto Rico) will face the 1 seed in Pool B (Mexico, Italy, or USA).

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