How Italy-Mexico will decide Team USA’s fate

The Lineup: Pregame Edition

Wednesday, March 11

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Italy faces Mexico tonight, and Team USA will be watching

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.

Today’s the final day of Pool Play in the World Baseball Classic, and we’re guaranteed a high-stakes slate.

Team USA wrapped up its opening round with last night’s narrow loss to Italy, finishing 3-1 in Pool B, but the Americans’ first-round fate is far from set. They’ll be glued to tonight’s Italy-Mexico game (7 ET on FS1), which will determine which two of the top three Pool B clubs — Italy, USA and Mexico — will advance to this weekend’s quarterfinals and which will go home. 

Anthony Castrovince has a full rundown of the tiebreaker scenarios for Italy, USA and Mexico here. 

HOW TO WATCH TONIGHT’S GAMES

Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela: Tonight at 8 ET on Tubi

A quick programming note for tonight’s two Classic games in light of a network update:

• At 7 p.m. ET, Italy vs. Mexico will air on FS1
• At 8 p.m. ET, Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela will air on Tubi

While both the D.R. and Venezuela have secured a trip to the quarterfinals after a 3-0 start to Pool D play, tonight’s matchup will directly affect this weekend’s matchups in Miami.

The winner of D.R.-Venezuela will face Korea, the Pool C runner-up, Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS2. The loser will get an extra day of rest … but will need to go up against Japan, which went unbeaten in Pool C and is looking for its fourth World Baseball Classic title. That quarterfinal game will be played Saturday night at 9 ET on FOX. 

So who has the edge in Pool D? If history is any indication, the Dominican Republic has an advantage, having won four of the five matchups between the two countries in Classic history. David Adler has more on this battle of unbeatens here. 

 

WATCH LIVE: CANADA-CUBA ON FS2

Canada vs. Cuba: LIVE on FS2

You don’t need to wait until tonight to get your World Baseball Classic fix. If you’re reading this on Wednesday afternoon, there is a critical, win-or-go-home matchup unfolding right now on FS2!

Canada versus Cuba began at 3 p.m. ET today. The stakes are high and simple to understand: If Canada wins, it advances to the quarterfinals as the top seed in Pool A. If Cuba wins, it advances as the Pool A runner-up.

And the loser is eliminated, no matter what.

Both teams are 2-1. Canada defeated Pool A host Puerto Rico on Tuesday to put itself on the doorstep of reaching the WBC quarterfinals for the first time. Cuba lost to Puerto Rico but picked up wins against Colombia and Panama. It has made it to the quarters in each of its five Classic appearances but is still looking for its first tournament crown. 

Stop what you’re doing — or at least finish this newsletter first — and go turn on FS2 or listen to a free audio stream here to follow the drama.

— Brian Murphy 

FOOD BY THE BOATLOAD

The Washington State Ferry Boat Souvenir

You won’t want to miss the boat on the latest ballpark fare from the club that popularized toasted grasshoppers.

This season at T-Mobile Park, the Mariners are offering a souvenir Washington State Ferry Boat that can be filled with options like nachos or chicken tenders and fries. You get to keep the boat, of course, and we can all get on board with that.

Get your Mariners tickets (and your chance to acquire a ferry boat full of food) now >> 

PLAY DAILY WALKOFF

Play Daily Wakoff

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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Published by RJ Hamster

I was born on 6 August 1956 in San Francisco, California to Janet and (the late) Richard Hovis. I grew up in Santa Monica, California where I attended elementary, junior high school, and high school (graduating in 1974), in addition to involvement in sports and recreation (Little League +, the Boy’s Club ++). Further, it was in elementary school – St. Augustine’s By-the -Sea Parish School that I found, and made the choice to truly journey with God. I attended Arizona State University from 1974 to 1977 – seeking to become an architect, however, I was not accepted, and, as such, I graduated with a Liberal Arts degree. Upon graduation from Arizona State University, I attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and studied City and Regional Planning at the Master’s level. I successfully completed one (1) year in a two (2) year program – I did not complete the Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning – due to personal reasons. I returned to Santa Monica where I started (October 1979) my career as graphic designer with Exxon Company, USA. I spent five years with Exxon Company, USA. While working with Exxon Company, USA I was accepted into architectural school – Sci-Arc in Southern California, however, I did not attend preferring to stay with Exxon.. In 1982 I married Laura Flosi and in April 1983 we had our one and only child – Lauren Alain Hovis – a gift from God. We moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1984 from Los Angeles, where I went to work as a graphic designer with Kitchell CEM (from 1985 -1987). From 1987 – 1995 I was an independent contractor, and a registered representative in mortgage finance, financial management, graphic design, and drafting. Further, I attended the University of Phoenix and successfully obtained a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) in 1982. I was also a member of the Scottsdale Jaycees, where I became very involved in community events and projects. In 1994, I accepted a cartography position with the Defense Mapping Agency in Reston, Virginia. As such, I relocated from Phoenix to Reston. In 1998, I was accepted and worked as a Visual Information Officer with the Central Intelligence Agency. In 2002, I worked as a Support Officer until my retirement (due to a need for shoulder surgery) in September 2018. Away from my Federal Government service, I have been involved in various organizations and activities in Northern Virginia. In November of 2011, I married Rebecca Ouellette in Santa Monica, California. I reside in San Tan Valley, AZ with my two hamster - Jess and Timothy, our fish, our lizard - RJ Lizard., and our cats - Pearl and Grey. As to hobbies, I enjoy playing sports, attending sporting events, mentoring individuals from financial management to hamsters, building models, photography, travel, multimedia design, managing partner for RJ Hamster, and jazz – smooth jazz to a samba or a bossa nova. Love and God Bless, Peter – aka RJ Hamster Jo hi

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