World Classic: Pasquantino dismisses Mexico; US advances to quarterfinals

(AFP) With a historic triple home run by Vinnie Pasquantino, Italy eliminated Mexico on Wednesday with a 9-1 thrashing and took the United States with it to the quarterfinals in the World Baseball Classic.

The duel between the Italians and Mexicans in Houston was the most eagerly awaited matchup at the close of the tournament's group stage, which also saw the elimination of Cuba at the hands of Canada and a victory by the Dominican Republic over Venezuela to snatch the group lead.

The quarterfinals will get underway on Friday with the duel between the United States and Canada in Houston and the Dominican Republic and South Korea in Miami.

On Saturday, Italy will face Puerto Rico in Houston and Venezuela will take on defending champions Japan in Miami.

Mexico, who finished third in the previous edition in 2023, crashed out of the playoffs on a sad night for their nearly 40,000 fans in Houston.

A win against Italy qualified El Tri and could also mean the shocking elimination of the United States, the main contenders to dethrone Japan, who were on the brink after Tuesday's loss to the Azzurri.

Yet, as in Monday's loss to Team USA, the chants and rancheras coming out of the packed Daikin Park stands were not enough in the face of Mexico's inability to attack and Pasquantino's outstanding performance.

The Italian captain became the first player to hit three home runs in a game in the two-decade history of the tournament.

"I don't consider it a failure, we knew Italy was a tough team," Mexican manager Benji Gil said of a team that had already beaten Mexico twice in the Classic.

"The hits didn't fall, the quality of the innings wasn't that good. But it wasn't for lack of desire, lack of commitment or lack of preparation," he lamented.

Mexico finished in third place in Group B, with a record of two wins and two losses.

Italy was the surprise winner of the group, with an unblemished 4-0 record, and the United States (3-1) took the second ticket thanks to some unintentional help from neighboring Mexico.

Canada eliminates Cuba

Canada pulled off a two-sided upset on Wednesday, eliminating Cuba with a 7-1 victory and advancing to the quarterfinals of the Classic for the first time ever as the new Group A leader.

The Canadian team, which had never advanced past the first phase, surprised by knocking out a ninth team with a tradition in the sport of hot ball, runner-up in the first edition in 2006 and semifinalist in the last one, in 2023.

Canada finished the group stage with a 3-1 record, the same as Puerto Rico, while Cuba was left out with 2-2.

After the elimination, Cuba loses the chance to fight for one of the two tickets to the baseball tournament of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games that the World Classic will distribute to American teams.

Dominican Republic overtakes Venezuela

At the end of the group stage, the Dominican Republic defeated Venezuela 7-5 in Miami in the duel that defined the leader of Group D.

The powerful Dominicans, which finished with a total of four wins, imposed its firepower with home runs by its stars Juan Soto, Ketel Marte, Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Fernando Tatis Jr, the latter with a three-run homerun.

Venezuela, second in the key with a 3-1 record, added excitement to the closing at the LoanDepot Park with runs in the last inning by young Jackson Chourio and Ronald Acuña Jr.

Reliever Elvis Alvarado, of the Oakland A's Athletics, broke the deadlock when Venezuela had two men on.