Certified Teams, Updated Schedule for Semifinals

The Globe Baseball Classic has been every thing it promised to be and extra, as the tournament has provided fans some of the greatest action and atmosphere that the sport has to present.

And now, it really is time for the final 4 teams to fight it out in Miami at loanDepot Park.

There have been dominant performances by familiar stars as properly as massive upsets, with title favorites like the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico becoming knocked out earlier than any one anticipated.

The semifinals are positive to bring extra of the very same as Cuba, Japan, Mexico and the United States all appear to be crowned as the world’s greatest in what has been the most watched and attended WBC due to the fact the tournament started in 2006.

Here’s the schedule for the rest of the tournament and a preview of each and every semifinal matchup.

Updated Globe Baseball Classic Schedule

Semifinal 1: Cuba vs. USA, March 19, 7 p.m. ET on FS1

Semifinal two: Mexico vs. Japan, March 20, 7 p.m. ET on FS1

Final: March 21, 7 p.m. ET on FS1

Cuba vs. USA

Normally a single for the dramatics, Group USA left it late in its spectacular quarterfinal matchup against Venezuela to punch its ticket to the final 4.

An eighth-inning grand slam by Trea Turner was arguably the greatest hit of the tournament, as it gave the reigning champions a 9-7 lead that they would by no means relinquish.

When Group USA has played properly all through the tournament, it hasn’t been as dominant as anticipated when the roster was very first announced. The group did not prime its pool right after becoming stunned by Mexico.

But carrying more than the electrical energy from Saturday’s win could spark the Americans to an look in the final in front of their household fans.

Meanwhile, Cuba is possibly the least heralded of all the teams to make it to the semifinals, even though not for a lack of talent. Existing and former MLB players like Yoán Moncada, Luis Robert Jr. and Yoenis Cespedes are representing the nation.

Cuba sophisticated as the prime group in Pool A right after winning a complex 5-way tiebreaker as every person in the group went two-two. The group then went on to squeeze previous Australia four-three in the quarterfinals.

Even though it does not have as substantially talent on paper as the United States, Cuba undoubtedly has the form of firepower that could give the Americans some problems if they are not cautious Sunday.

Mexico vs. Japan

When most fans anticipated Japan to make it to this stage of the tournament—if not go on to win the complete thing—Mexico has crashed the semifinals celebration right after it topped the United States in Pool C play and beat Puerto Rico in an electrifying quarterfinal matchup.

Mexico has been sparked by Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena, who may well just be the player of the tournament so far, an impressive feat thinking about all the stars participating.

Arozarena, who is Cuban-born but became a Mexican citizen in 2022, has been on an absolute tear hitting .471/.625/.941 with a household run and nine RBIs, the latter of which is fantastic for second-most in the tournament.

He has also played tremendous and clutch defense.

Mexico will have its perform reduce out for it, on the other hand, as they take on a Japan group that has looked like the WBC’s greatest up to this point right after finishing dominating Pool B and then cruising to a 9-three quarterfinal win more than Italy.

Japan has what appears to be a fantastic blend of offense and pitching, with players like Shohei Ohtani, Masataka Yoshida, Yu Darvish and Rōki Sasaki all playing massive roles in the team’s run so far.