WBC Daily: Dominican Republic Makes Statement; Italy, Cuba Remain Undefeated

The reigning champions held off a potential spoiler, a tournament favorite sent a statement, and an upstart team in Houston continued its strong start.

The World Baseball Classic action started in Tokyo on Sunday morning, when Stuart Fairchild continued making a big name for himself for Chinese Taipei.

Chinese Taipei vs. Korea | Australia vs. Japan | Dominican Republic vs. Netherlands | Colombia vs. Cuba | Great Britain vs. Italy

Stuart Fairchild Becomes a WBC Star

After two wins to start Pool C play, Australia had a real opportunity to shake up the WBC. The Aussies even had a lead after opening the scoring in the sixth inning.

Japan scored twice in the seventh and eighth innings, though, with Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida getting his team on the board with a two-run home run.

Japan’s Masataka Yoshida hits go-ahead HR, taking lead over Australia

The big story was 30-year-old right-hander Connor MacDonald, who threw three scoreless innings with his brother in the crowd. It was an emotional outing on the biggest stage of MacDonald’s career. He has never played professionally outside of Australia.

Dominicans Dominate Netherlands

Colombia’s WBC hopes are over after it dropped to 0-3 after a 7-4 loss to Cuba, which is 2-0.

Right-hander Luis Patiño only lasted one-third of an inning, allowed four runs on two hits, both of which were home runs. Ariel Martinez and Erisbel Arruebarrena hit the long balls for Cuba.

Next up for Cuba is a huge matchup of 2-0 teams against Puerto Rico on Monday night in San Juan.