Netherlands and Panama open WBC 2023 with victory

The first victory of the 2023 World Baseball Classic went to the Netherlands. With a history of solid performances in the competition, they defeated Cuba in the opening game. Cuba started the game with the upper hand, however, the run of play went against them and in the end, they succumbed to a 4-2 loss in the Group A duel which played out in Taiwan.

One of the stars of the Cuban national team is Céspedes, who, as a designated hitter, had no hits, and walked twice; the team barely managed three hits. Cuba's next opponent is Italy on March 9, followed by a match against Panama.

Panama 12-5 Chinese Taipei

Speaking of the Canaleros, it was incredible what they did, they beat China Taipei 12-5, their first victory in the history of this tournament. Today, in the second match, they will face the Netherlands.

Another matchup for today is Australia vs South Korea, the latter is a team made up of players from the Korean baseball organization, mixed with some MLB talent such as Tommy Edman and Ha-Seong Kim. The Australians are coming to the tournament for the fourth time, but both know the importance of this match since the predictions indicate that one of the two tickets to the second round will be between them, while the other one will go to Japan, which is the big favorite, although, in sport we know that anything can happen.

The battle in Group B continues on Thursday when host Japan - led by Los Angeles Angels star Shoehi Ohtani - takes on China. Group C and D matches begin on Saturday in Phoenix and Miami.