2017 World Baseball Classic – Championship
The championship round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic took place at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, 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 | 3 | ||||||||
FW | 4 | ||||||||
SF1W | 0 | ||||||||
SF2W | 8 | ||||||||
FR | 2 | ||||||||
EW | 1 | ||||||||
Results
- All times are Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−07:00).
Semifinal 1 − Puerto Rico 4, Netherlands 3
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0 | ||||||||||
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
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | ||||||||||||
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
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 13 | 0 | ||||||||||||
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, as Puerto Rico's performance faltered without earning a single run throughout the innings. 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
- Adler, David (August 25, 2016). "LA to host 2017 World Baseball Classic final". MLB.com. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- "2017 World Baseball Classic: Full schedule, TV start times, scores, results, standings". CBSSports.com. November 15, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
- "Baseball: Japan, the Netherlands blast way into WBC final four". Reuters. March 15, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017 – via Reuters.
- Kelly, Matt (March 18, 2017). "Puerto Rico reaches LA, is floating on error". MLB.com. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
- "U.S. ousts Dominican Republic, will face Japan in WBC semifinals". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- Coskrey, Jason (March 20, 2017). "Puerto Rico, Netherlands ready for WBC semifinal". The Japan Times. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- "U.S. advances to face Japan in WBC semis". The Japan Times. Associated Press. March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- 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. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
- Hoch, Bryan (March 20, 2017). "Gregorius off Dutch roster with shoulder injury". MLB.com. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- Padilla, Doug (March 20, 2017). "Multicultural Netherlands could become signature team of 2017 WBC". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- "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.
- Randhawa, Manny (March 21, 2017). "Wladimir Balentien hits fourth Classic homer". MLB.com. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- "Carlos Correa keys Puerto Rico's 11th-inning WBC win". Houston Chronicle. March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- "Puerto Rico tops Netherlands in 11 innings, reaches World Baseball Classic final". USA Today. March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- Schoenfield, David (March 21, 2017). "Just how good is Japan's unbeaten WBC team?". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
- 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.
- "US gives Roark shot at redemption vs Japan in WBC semis". The Olympian. Associated Press. March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- Nightengale, Bob (March 22, 2017). "USA beats Japan, reaches World Baseball Classic final for the first time". USA Today. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
- 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.
- Rogers, Phil (March 22, 2017). "USA-PR a final worthy of emotional WBC '17". MLB.com. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
- Bloom, Barry M. (March 21, 2017). "Puerto Rico eyes crown in Classic run". MLB.com. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- Gatto, Tom (March 22, 2017). "World Baseball Classic 2017: Live updates of U.S.-Puerto Rico tournament final". Sporting News. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
- "Stroman MVP, U.S. blows out Puerto Rico to win World Baseball Classic". Sportsnet.ca. Associated Press. March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.