Classic quarterfinals are set! Here's how it happened

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Is my job in this here podcast. Tell you everything that's going on in baseball.

In the do so in under ten minutes. The world baseball classic has completed

pool play. There is fair to say a lot to get you caught up on.

To remind, after TV USA's bewildering lost Italy on Tuesday night,

the Americans were forced to sit idly by simply watching those same espresso

chugging Italians play Mexico on Wednesday night with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line.

Italy won the United States with a dance. Everything would be fine, but also if Mexico won,

but scored five runs or more and the game didn't go into extra earnings,

the United States would also advance and it would also be fine.

Basically, you just had to root for Italy to score four runs.

After that, as long as the game only went nine innings, the U.S.

they were gold. So, you know, not impossible.

But the thing is that the United States team, which just about everybody thought had

advanced when they beat Mexico two nights ago, and that includes me on this podcast,

who last time I was here 48 hours ago called their quarterfinals spot, quote,

old but assured, which whoops. Anyway, the U.S. team had no actual ability to do anything about it.

They just had to sit and watch. In the second inning, Vinnie Pasquantino, apparently thirsty for

that espresso they're making the dugout, got the Italians off to a hot start, certainly giving

the Americans and the rest of us something to watch. That balls hit pretty well. Right field and

team to ran back to the wall is the leaves and it's gone.

Then in the third inning, John Birdie, who has hit one homer in the majors since 2023,

and is in fact still looking for a big league job right now, decided he was a little

parched for espresso himself. Birdie hits that one to left. A Rosarena back at the wall.

Looks up and it's gone. So, two runs halfway there. In the top of the fifth with Dante

Nori at the plate, the Italian scored their third run in the exact opposite way of a homer.

It's a squeeze play. Middling field back for two corners or even. He's got a bun,

drops it down, runner coming home, and he is safe. It pops out a coach's glove. So, at this

point, all the Americans needed to advance was for Italy to just get one more measly run.

Hey, Team USA, Jacob Marcius got you with a three-one pitch. Ground ball in the right field.

That's a base hit. Scoring is Zerazio. This is going to be a five-nothing lead for Italy.

At that point, the United States was in. Afterwards, Italy kept cruising,

a ultimately winning nine-to-one to officially win pool B in advance of the quarter-finals for

the second consecutive World Baseball Classic. Oh, yeah, Vinnie Pasquantino. That first

Humory hit. Well, he ended up hitting two more. That adds up to three. Three homers.

Here are all three for you. He's hit three. Vinnie's going to have so much espresso when

if he may not go to sleep tonight. This will be a third shot of espresso. Vinnie can't get

easy big fella. Three times a homer. Opera. Espresso. That's Italian. Vinnie's not going to sleep

tonight. He's had too much espresso. In the words of private Omar Olmer,

belisimo. So, the win sets up the following quarter-final matchups. Friday night,

Team USA versus Canada ate PM Eastern time on Fox. Saturday afternoon, Italy versus Puerto Rico,

three PM Eastern time on FS1. And if the two teams run into each other in the battles of

Dakin Park, Team USA probably owes Italy a hug. After the break, we have two other pools that

finished up on Wednesday, even though they did not involve the United States, they are still quite

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Oh, two in the air to left. Here comes Owen Casey. And for the first time in its history, Canada has

headed on to the World Baseball Classic Corner final. Canada has been a part of the World Baseball

Classic since the very beginning, showing with the first WBC in 2006. That team featured Matt

Sayers, Ray Alcourtney, Jason Paye, Subbie Clap, Justin Moore, Noan, Paul Quantral, and

like every other Canadian team for the next four World Baseball Classics, they did not advance out

of the pool stage. But on Wednesday, in a game started by Paul Quantral, Sun Cow Quantral,

they not only had a chance to make it out of the pool, but in fact to win it. All they had to do

was beat Cuba a team that had in fact never failed to make it out of the pool stage. Drama! In the

fifth, Abraham Toro came to the plate. He crushes this one deep to right. Abraham Toro doubles

the lead for Canada. It's two to nothing. Then came Cuba's Nightmare 6th inning, which featured a

dropped pop-up, a wild pitch, and a catcher's interference, which gave Canada just enough base

runners to allow Otto Lopez to do this. Lopez bouncing call left side that passed the lunch of

Augustin in the left. In the score is Bonaylor. Deaths out Clark can fly. He scores too!

Add to that, five innings of zero earned runs and five strikeouts for Canadian NEPO Baby Cow Quantral,

and that is all the Canadians would need a winning 7-2 and advancing to the quarterfinals.

Ernie Witt, who has in fact been managing the Canadian team for 20 years, including in that very

first World Baseball Classic, he was understandably very, very happy afterwards. I'm very excited

about it and he's just to say, I mean it's been a long haul. The team has really come together.

We've jailed. Couldn't ask for more. You know, anything can happen. That's why you play the game.

So to remind, Canada will play the US on Friday night, 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Fox. Puerto Rico will

play Italy Saturday afternoon 3 p.m. on F-S-1, which leads us to Pool D. Stakes on this one were pretty

clear head and end. Both the Dominican Republic and Venezuela had already advanced to the knockout

round, but whoever won Wednesday would earn first place in Pool D and probably more important,

avoid having to play defending champion Japan in those quarterfinals. So the two Latin American

countries faced off in front of a very raucous and very fun Miami crowd. One Soto sent an

omen for the evening in the very first inning. There was more where that came from.

Hey, look, it's Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.

Oh, Fernando to tease Jr. Were you not getting enough attention? Well,

all told the Dominican Republic, while four homers giving them 13 for the World Baseball Classic so far,

just one short of the all-time record set by Mexico in 2009, though actually just one ahead of Italy

this year, as the Dominican Republic surviving a pretty scary ninth inning in which the winning

run was at the plate for Salvador Perez, hit into a game ending double play,

ended up sneaking past Venezuela, seven to five to win Pool D. So the rest of the quarterfinals

are set. How about some game times? Friday, 6.30 PM Eastern time in Miami, Dominican Republic

against South Korea on FS2. In Saturday, nine PM Eastern time also in Miami,

Venezuela versus Japan on Fox. Thursday, there are no games. We give a day off.

And I don't know about you, but after all that, I'm proud to use one.

That's all for today's morning lineup podcast. Thank you for listening. Please be sure to give

us a rating and a review and tell everyone you know about this podcast. I will be back with you

again Friday morning to do a more detailed preview of the quarterfinals, which again,

begin Friday. That's why we're previewing it that day. I, until then, will not leave this spot.

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night. She'll stay this career from the Swiss

completion of his appointed rounds. See you tomorrow!

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