2017 World Baseball Classic championship

2017 World Baseball Classic Final

Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
United States Puerto Rico 8 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E United States 0 0 2 0 2 0 3 1 0 8 13 0 Puerto Rico 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1
Date	March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17)
Venue	Dodger Stadium
City	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Managers	Jim Leyland (United States) Edwin Rodríguez (Puerto Rico)
Umpires	HP: Eric Cooper 1B: Lance Barksdale 2B: Rob Drake 3B: Byung–ju Kim LF: Edgar Estivision RF: Trevor Grieve
MVP	Marcus Stroman (United States)
Attendance	51,565
Time of game	6:21 p.m. PDT
Television	Multiple
Radio	Multiple

The championship round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic took place at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, United States, from March 20 to 22, 2017. The championship round was a single-elimination tournament.[1][2] Japan and the Netherlands advanced to the championship round from Pool E.[3] Puerto Rico and the United States advanced from Pool F.[4][5] Defending champions Dominican Republic were eliminated in the second round.

Puerto Rico and the Netherlands played a semifinal game on March 20,[6] while the United States and Japan played on March 21.[7] Puerto Rico and the United States advanced to the championship game.[8] The United States defeated Puerto Rico to win the championship. Marcus Stroman was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Bracket

	Semifinals					Final
	ER	Netherlands	3
	FW	Puerto Rico	4
						SF1W	Puerto Rico	0
						SF2W	United States	8
	FR	United States	2
	EW	Japan	1

Results

• All times are Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−07:00).

Semifinal 1 − Puerto Rico 4, Netherlands 3

Carlos Correa hit a home run for Puerto Rico in the first inning against the Netherlands.

March 19, 18:00 at Dodger Stadium (F/11)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Netherlands	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	11	0
Puerto Rico	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	12	0
WP: Edwin Díaz (1−0)   LP: Loek van Mil (0−1) Home runs: NED: Wladimir Balentien (1) PUR: Carlos Correa (1), T. J. Rivera (1) Attendance: 24,865 (44.4%) Umpires: HP − Lance Barksdale, 1B − Byung-ju Kim, 2B − Rob Drake, 3B − Eric Cooper, LF − Edgar Estivision, RF − Trevor Grieve Notes: Extra inning rule was used in 11th inning. Two outs when winning run scored. Boxscore

Prior to the game, Didi Gregorius was removed from the Netherlands roster due to a shoulder injury.[9] The Netherlands gained Kenley Jansen, who did not pitch in the previous rounds.[10] Rick van den Hurk started for the Netherlands and Jorge López started for Puerto Rico.[11]

Wladimir Balentien[12] and Carlos Correa both hit two-run home runs in the first inning. T. J. Rivera hit a home run for Puerto Rico in the second inning. The Netherlands tied the score on a run batted in (RBI) double by Shawn Zarraga in the fifth inning. From there, the game remained tied through the 10th inning.[13]

Starting in the 11th inning, teams start each inning with runners on first and second base as a means of sudden death. The Netherlands failed to score in the top of the 11th inning, but Puerto Rico scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the inning.[14]

Semifinal 2 − United States 2, Japan 1

Tanner Roark pitched four scoreless innings for the United States

March 21, 18:00 at Dodger Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
United States	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	6	0
Japan	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	4	1
WP: Sam Dyson (1−0)   LP: Kodai Senga (1−1)   Sv: Luke Gregerson (3) Home runs: USA: None JPN: Ryosuke Kikuchi (1) Attendance: 33,462 (59.8%) Umpires: HP − Rob Drake, 1B − Eric Cooper, 2B − Trevor Grieve, 3B − Edgar Estivision, LF − Byung-ju Kim, RF − Lance Barksdale Boxscore

Japan reached the semifinals with wins in all six games played in the previous rounds.[15] Tanner Roark started for the United States in the semifinal game,[16] while Tomoyuki Sugano started for Japan.[17] Roark pitched four scoreless innings,[18] while Sugano allowed one run in six innings. The United States scored a run on an RBI single by Andrew McCutchen in the fourth inning, and Ryosuke Kikuchi hit a home run for Japan in the sixth inning to tie the game. The United States scored another run in the eighth inning to take the lead, and Luke Gregerson earned the save. Though the Japanese team was considered the strongest defensive team in the WBC, misplays by Kikuchi at second base and Nobuhiro Matsuda at third base led to each of the United States's runs.[19]

Final − United States 8, Puerto Rico 0

Marcus Stroman did not allow a hit in the first six innings, and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

March 22, 18:00 at Dodger Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
United States	0	0	2	0	2	0	3	1	0	8	13	0
Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
WP: Marcus Stroman (1−1)   LP: Seth Lugo (2−1) Home runs: USA: Ian Kinsler (1) PUR: None Attendance: 51,565 (92.1%) Umpires: HP − Eric Cooper, 1B − Lance Barksdale, 2B − Rob Drake, 3B − Byung-ju Kim, LF − Edgar Estivision, RF − Trevor Grieve Boxscore

Puerto Rico reached the championship undefeated in the tournament, winning all seven games played. Puerto Rico defeated the United States when they faced each other in Pool F.[8][20] In the championship game, Seth Lugo started for Puerto Rico,[21] and Marcus Stroman started for the United States.[19] Ian Kinsler hit a two-run home run for the United States in the third inning, while Puerto Rico's offense faltered, failing to score a single run in the championship game. Kinsler scored again in the fifth inning on a single by Christian Yelich, and Yelich scored on an infield single by McCutchen. Two more runs scored on a bases loaded single by Brandon Crawford in the seventh inning, and Giancarlo Stanton scored the inning's third run with an RBI single. Meanwhile, Stroman did not allow a hit for the first six innings of play. The United States added another run in the eighth inning with an RBI single by McCutchen. The United States completed the shutout to win the championship.[22] Stroman was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.[23]

References

1. Adler, David (August 25, 2016). "LA to host 2017 World Baseball Classic final". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
2. "2017 World Baseball Classic: Full schedule, TV start times, scores, results, standings". CBSSports.com. November 15, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
3. "Baseball: Japan, the Netherlands blast way into WBC final four". Reuters. March 15, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017 – via Reuters.
4. Kelly, Matt (March 18, 2017). "Puerto Rico reaches LA, is floating on error". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
5. "U.S. ousts Dominican Republic, will face Japan in WBC semifinals". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
6. Coskrey, Jason (March 20, 2017). "Puerto Rico, Netherlands ready for WBC semifinal". The Japan Times. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
7. "U.S. advances to face Japan in WBC semis". The Japan Times. Associated Press. March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
8. Thornburg, Chad (March 22, 2017). "Team USA, Puerto Rico roll with familiar lineups: Stroman, Lugo to square off on mound in World Baseball Classic championship". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
9. Hoch, Bryan (March 20, 2017). "Gregorius off Dutch roster with shoulder injury". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
10. Padilla, Doug (March 20, 2017). "Multicultural Netherlands could become signature team of 2017 WBC". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
11. "Jorge López contra Rick Van Den Hurk será el duelo de lanzadores entre Puerto Rico y Holanda de esta noche". Noticia al Dia (in Spanish). March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
12. Randhawa, Manny (March 21, 2017). "Wladimir Balentien hits fourth Classic homer". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
13. "Carlos Correa keys Puerto Rico's 11th-inning WBC win". Houston Chronicle. March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
14. "Puerto Rico tops Netherlands in 11 innings, reaches World Baseball Classic final". USA Today. March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
15. Schoenfield, David (March 21, 2017). "Just how good is Japan's unbeaten WBC team?". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
16. Janes, Chelsea (March 19, 2017). "Tanner Roark set to start for Team USA on Tuesday, Daniel Murphy continues to sit". Washington Post. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
17. "US gives Roark shot at redemption vs Japan in WBC semis". The Olympian. Associated Press. March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.^[permanent dead link‍]
18. Nightengale, Bob (March 22, 2017). "USA beats Japan, reaches World Baseball Classic final for the first time". USA Today. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
19. Witz, Billy (March 22, 2017). "U.S., Exploiting Japan's Miscues, Reaches First W.B.C. Final". The New York Times. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
20. Rogers, Phil (March 22, 2017). "USA-PR a final worthy of emotional WBC '17". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
21. Bloom, Barry M. (March 21, 2017). "Puerto Rico eyes crown in Classic run". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
22. Gatto, Tom (March 22, 2017). "World Baseball Classic 2017: Live updates of U.S.-Puerto Rico tournament final". Sporting News. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
23. "Stroman MVP, U.S. blows out Puerto Rico to win World Baseball Classic". Sportsnet.ca. Associated Press. March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.

External links

• Official website