World Baseball Classic quarterfinals preview: USA looking for redemption & why Japan could be upset by Venezuela

Pool play for the 2026 edition of the World Baseball Classic has wrapped up and we’re now down to the final eight teams. With the quarterfinals set to kick off on Friday night in Miami and Houston, it’s time to look at the matchups and who might move on to the semifinals.

On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz is joined by SNY MLB insider reporter Chelsea Janes as they break down each game in the quarterfinals, including the United States taking on Canada and whether the bad vibes that surrounded them against Italy are gone now that they’ve advanced. Then they discuss the highly entertaining Dominican Republic squad taking on Korea, where Hyun Jin Ryu will try to calm the explosive DR bats.

Later, Jake and Chelsea preview Japan taking on Venezuela and why Ranger Suárez could be the key to the next major upset of the tournament. They close out the segment talking about whether the feel-good vibes coming from Vinnie Pasquantino and the Italian squad could carry them to the next round by defeating Puerto Rico. Jake and Chelsea then make their picks for a WBC edition of The Good, The Bad & The Uggla.

1:47 - The Opener: USA vs. Canada
24:13 - Dominican Republic vs. Korea
34:08 - Japan vs. Venezuela
42:38 - Italy vs. Puerto Rico
49:40 - The Good, The Bad & The Uggla

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