Team USA will play its third game of the 2023 World Baseball Classic on Monday night against Canada. Chicago White Sox right-hander Lance Lynn will get the starting nod for an American squad that was nearly subjected to the mercy rule in Sunday night’s loss versus Mexico. Team USA’s record now stands at 1-1 with two games left to play, making Monday’s game close to a must-win if the reigning WBC champions hope to advance to the next phase.
Below, CBS Sports has previewed what waits ahead for Team USA and recapped how Sunday night’s loss complicates their pursuit of repeating as champions. Before we get into the specifics of the Americans’ situation, we figured it would be helpful to provide a refresher on how the WBC’s tournament structure works.
In the first phase, the pool play, 20 teams are sorted into four bins. Each of those five teams within each pool play one another, for a total of four games. From there, the tournament enters its second phase, with the two teams with the best records in each of the four pools advancing to what amounts to an eight-team, single-elimination tournament. In other words, the eventual champion is the team who wins three consecutive elimination games.
Got it? Good. Now, let’s get specific about Team USA and what awaits them.
1. The remaining schedule
As mentioned above, this initial WBC phase entails playing one game apiece versus the other four teams in the pool. Team USA has already played Great Britain and Mexico, leaving them with dates against Canada and Colombia.
- Canada, Monday, 10 p.m. ET
- Colombia, Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET
The Americans will square off with the Canadians on Monday night before taking Tuesday off. They’ll then play Colombia on Wednesday night. As it stands, that game could have win-or-go-back-to-spring-training stakes.
2. The current pool picture
Team USA received major help from Great Britain on Monday. After looking overmatched in their first two games, the Brits upset Colombia, paving the way for the Americans to control their own destiny. Here’s how Pool C stacks up following Great Britain’s upset of Colombia:
|
Canada |
1 |
0 |
3 |
|
Colombia |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Mexico |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
USA |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Great Britain |
1 |
2 |
1 |
Canada has most of its tournament ahead of…
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