Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know in baseball, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here. Team USA vs. Canada. Must-win game. Sound familiar? The two countries are set to renew their rivalry in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals on Friday (8 p.m. ET, FOX), less than a month after the United States defeated Canada in both the men's and women's hockey gold medal games at the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. If the Olympic hockey sweep wasn't enough inspiration for Team USA's baseball squad, New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes -- still missing some teeth from the gold medal game -- made sure to send an extra reminder of what's at stake. Team USA manager Mark DeRosa said Thursday that Hughes, whose overtime goal gave the men's team its first hockey gold since 1980, "sent the boys a nice little fire-up message" ahead of Friday's matchup. This is unfamiliar territory for the Canadians, who before this year had never advanced past pool play. But this Canada club is no pushover. It just won Pool A, after all. And as Italy proved in Pool B, Team USA isn't invincible. The winner of this game will move on to Miami's loanDepot park, where it will face the winner of Korea vs. the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic semifinals on Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET (FS1). -- Thomas Harrigan |
UPSET ALERT OR WILL DOMINICANS CRUISE? |
A Korean team that advanced with a dramatic win over Australia in its final game of pool play will do its best to stop the top offense of the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.
The D.R. and Korea face off in the first WBC quarterfinal game on Friday night at loanDepot park (6:30 p.m. ET, FS2). The winner will move on to play the winner of Team USA vs. Canada in the semifinals on Sunday. The Dominican Republic will be the favorites after slugging their way through an undefeated Pool D run, including a big win over rival Venezuela on Wednesday night to clinch first place in the pool.
The D.R. has hit 13 home runs in the 2026 Classic, one shy of the all-time WBC record set by Mexico in 2009. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Oneil Cruz and Junior Caminero have each hit two homers, and Julio Rodríguez, Ketel Marte and Austin Wells each have one. Going up against the D.R. lineup is longtime MLB lefty and now-KBO pitcher Hyun Jin Ryu. The Dominicans will have their ace on the mound: Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez, the 2025 NL Cy Young runner-up.
The bat-flipping, chest-pounding, dancing Dominican Republic team is on a roll entering this matchup, so Ryu and Korea face an uphill battle to turn off the music and advance.
-- David Adler |
TWO QUARTERS TO GO TOMORROW |
The Classic semifinals will be only half set by the end of tonight's two matchups. We'll find out the other half on Saturday. Here's a glance at those two games: Puerto Rico vs. Italy, 3 p.m. ET on FS1 Team Italy, with its espressos and public displays of affection, has become a tournament darling. The Italians upset the USA and crushed Mexico on their way to an undefeated record in Pool B. They'll send Royals righty Seth Lugo to the mound against Puerto Rico, which authored arguably the most memorable moment of the tournament so far. Puerto Rico, the runner-up in Pool A, has not named a starting pitcher yet. Venezuela vs. Japan, 9 p.m. ET on FOX Ranger Suarez was the winning pitcher when the Phillies beat Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Dodgers in Game 3 of the NLDS about five months ago. Those two aces square off Saturday in Miami. It's worth noting that Shohei Ohtani was 0-for-3 against Suarez in that playoff game. Ohtani is 5-for-9 with two home runs and a cool 2.025 OPS in the WBC. Meanwhile, Giants second baseman Luis Arraez has been the offensive star for Venezuela; no player has more hits (seven) or total bases (17) in the tourney. -- Brian Murphy |
MLB.com recently ranked the remaining managers in the World Baseball Classic according to their accomplishments as players, and it's no surprise that two Cardinals franchise icons finished at the top.
Dominican skipper Albert Pujols, with his 703 career homers, 3,384 hits and three MVPs, is an inner-circle baseball legend. Puerto Rico's Yadier Molina, who followed in his older brothers' footsteps as a big league catcher, is widely considered among the greatest defensive players ever at the position, and he has nine Gold Gloves and four Platinum Gloves to back that up.
As teammates from 2004-11, and again in '22 for one last run before they both decided to hang up their cleats, they led St. Louis to three NL pennants and two World Series championships. Both skippers enter this weekend's WBC quarterfinals just two wins away from a potential epic showdown in the final.
The dream matchup for the two longtime friends wouldn't necessarily just be for national pride or personal bragging rights, either. Both have made it clear that they'd like to manage in the big leagues someday -- Pujols reportedly interviewed for the Angels' opening this past offseason -- and the way they handle their squads over the coming days will certainly be monitored closely by front office execs around the league.
-- Ed Eagle |
If you've ever somehow wondered who Nintendo icon Yoshi's favorite baseball player is, the Dodgers have your answer. The first 40,000 ticketed fans for their game against the Guardians on Tuesday, March 31, will receive a Yoshi bobblehead courtesy of the new Super Mario Galaxy movie, which hits theaters a day later. And in a nice touch, the lovable green dinosaur is wearing – of course! – Yoshinobu Yamamoto's No. 18. Get your tickets now >>. |
Put your baseball brain to the test with Daily Walkoff, where you can find 30 brand-new trivia puzzles every day, one for each team. Play Daily Walkoff >> |
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