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On the very next pitch, Eddie Rosario immediately goes yard to put Puerto Rico ahead 4-0. Urías has nothing early.
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Puerto Rico 3-0 Mexico, top 1st inning
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Javier Báez is up next, with a runner on second and two outs.
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Puerto Rico 1-0 Mexico, top 1st inning
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Alex Verdugo is up with a chance to drive in a run. He almost does on the second pitch he sees, but it only goes foul. On a 2-1 offering, he hits one into the outfield for a sacrifice fly that puts Puerto Rico on top early!
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Puerto Rico 0-0 Mexico, top 1st inning
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Lindor is in the box against Urías and takes ball one to start the game. Urías gets ahead of Lindor 1-2, Lindor fouls off a pitch and then strikes out. Urías begins his outing with a k.
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Key events
Puerto Rico 4-0 Mexico, bottom 1st inning
Randy Arozarena is up against Marcus Stroman. He’s certainly a guy who can get an offense fired up. He falls behind 1-2 early before tapping out weakly. Not so much there, I guess.
I’m going to be honest, I was very much hoping for a closer game than it looks like we might be getting. Still, if Mexico can cut into the lead early, this still could be quite competitive.
Puerto Rico 4-0 Mexico, top 1st inning
Can Christian Vázquez keep the line moving for Puerto Rico? He gets ahead of the count 3-1, pops one up foul for a full count and then fouls off the next pitch. Still 3-2. He gets good wood on a pitch but this one stays in the yard for a simple flyout.
Mexico will be up next, but they are already in a deep hole.
Home run! (Eddie Rosario, Puerto Rico 4-0 Mexico)
Puerto Rico 4-0 Mexico, top 1st inning
On the very next pitch, Eddie Rosario immediately goes yard to put Puerto Rico ahead 4-0. Urías has nothing early.
Two-Run Home Run (Javier Báez, Puerto Rico 3-0 Mexico))
Puerto Rico 3-0 Mexico, top 1st inning
Javier Báez is up next, with a runner on second and two outs.
SACRIFICE FLY! (Alex Verdugo, Puerto Rico 1-0 Mexico)
Puerto Rico 1-0 Mexico, top 1st inning
Alex Verdugo is up with a chance to drive in a run. He almost does on the second pitch he sees, but it only goes foul. On a 2-1 offering, he hits one into the outfield for a sacrifice fly that puts Puerto Rico on top early!
Puerto Rico 0-0 Mexico, top 1st inning
Nelson Velázquez hits a base hit that puts Hernández on third base, runners on the corner with just one out. This gives Puerto Rico a chance to score a run on an out.
Puerto Rico 0-0 Mexico, top 1st inning
Up next is Kiké Hernández from the Boston Red Sox. He works a full count against Urías and takes ball four. Puerto Rico has its first baserunner.
First pitch
Puerto Rico 0-0 Mexico, top 1st inning
Lindor is in the box against Urías and takes ball one to start the game. Urías gets ahead of Lindor 1-2, Lindor fouls off a pitch and then strikes out. Urías begins his outing with a k.
Alright, the race car driver program has ended on FS1 so it’s now time for the World Baseball Classic coverage to start. First pitch should be relatively shortly!
For the record, USA v Venezuela will be on right around this time tomorrow and we’ll be here liveblogging that game at the Guardian as well! WBC fever catch it!
Some controversy about the fact that Mexico is playing this game when they are. It turns out that there may have been some television-rating-related shenanigans going on behind the scenes.
Mexico manager Benji Gil voices frustration that the WBC schedule was changed ,forcing them to play tonight without a day off instead of Saturday simply so that the USA game could be played on FOX-TV. Mexico originally was scheduled to play Saturday since they won Pool C over USA
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 17, 2023
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Mexico manager Benji Gil voices frustration that the WBC schedule was changed ,forcing them to play tonight without a day off instead of Saturday simply so that the USA game could be played on FOX-TV. Mexico originally was scheduled to play Saturday since they won Pool C over USA
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 17, 2023
I just tried to explain to one of my roommates what the WBC is and why it’s important. For instance, how big is today’s game for Puerto Rico? Potentially quite large!
61% of all households in Puerto Rico were watching the WBC last night. So yeah. It matters. https://t.co/4BeHKATkoC
— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) March 17, 2023
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Predictions
These are two talented baseball rosters, so let’s assume that the mercy rule would not be needed today even if were in effect (that was for poor play only). Now, don’t quote me on this, but it feels like Puerto Rico is a better team, particularly with the likes of Francisco Lindor and Javier Báez in the lineup. They will feel the loss of Díaz, but they still might have the edge in relievers. I’m going to guess Puerto Rico will be Mexico 4-3 Mexico and go on to face Japan in the WBC semifinals on Monday.
Granted, Mexico just upset the United States and has ace Julio Urias going for them on the mound on full rest so I very much could be wrong. Have a prediction? You can email it to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com or tweet it to @HunterFelt. We’ll include it here.
Mexico starting lineup
1. Randy Arozarena. LF
2. Alex Verdugo, RF
3. Joey Menses, 1B
4. Rowdy Tellez, DH
5. Isaac Paredes, 3B
6. Luis Urías, 2B
7. Alan Trejo, SS
8. Alex Thomas, CF
9. Austin Barnes, C
SP: Julio Urías
Puerto Rico starting lineup
1. Francisco Lindor, SS
2. Enrique Hernández, CF
3. Nelson Velázquez, RF
4. Emmanuel Rivera, 3B
5. Javier Báez, 2B
6. Eddie Rosario, LF
7. Christian Vázquez, DH
8. Neftali Soto, 1B
9. Martín Maldonado, C
Starting Pitcher, Marcus Stroman
Preamble
Welcome to the Guardian’s World Baseball Classic quarterfinal matchup between Mexico and Puerto Rico! The World Baseball Classic, for those unaware, is a true world series of baseball between teams composed of players representing countries across the planet (although some players may have closer ties to their representative country than others). While it’s still considered something of a novelty in the United States, make no mistake that for the individual countries involved there is a lot of national pride on the line.
So, here we have Mexico, who edged out the U.S. to capture the top spot in Pool C, up against Puerto Rico, who eliminated the Dominican Republic in order to advance from Pool D. There has been a lot of drama in these pool play matchups, but unfortunately, they have been overshadowed by the knee injury suffered by New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz during Puerto Rico’s postgame celebration after they defeated the highly-favored Dominican Republic on Wednesday.
This injury has led to arguments in the baseball world about whether MLB players should participate in the WBC. While it’s understandable that a diehard Mets fan would be upset at the loss of their All-Star closer and seek some entity to blame for his freak accident, it’s important to remember that it’s not like players are not suffering injuries in spring training either. These are not just lowly exhibition games either, these WBC games mean a lot to the players and the countries they represent (including the US).
That said, nobody wants to see any players go down. Let’s hope that the remainder of this tournament will be remembered for baseball-related reasons rather than any further misfortunes. If you want to contribute to today’s liveblog, feel free to tweet at @HunterFelt or send an email to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com and we’ll use your thoughts.
It’s the quarterfinal matchup between Puerto Rico and Mexico at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida. Our game, which is being televised in the U.S. on Fox Sports 1, is set to start at 7:00 pm EST, but we’ll be back beforehand with predictions, starting lineups and other things before then.
Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s a look back at Puerto Rico’s bittersweet triumph on Wednesday night against the Dominican Republic.
