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World Baseball Classic Morning Recap: Dominican Republic, South Korea, USA, and Puerto Rico Advance
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Photo credit: © Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Tristan Morgan
Mar 10, 2026, 07:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 10, 2026, 04:40 EDT
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It was a tense March 9th as the 2026 World Baseball Classic continued toward the end of pool play, with more knockout matches with playoff spots beginning to solidify. 
In yesterday’s affairs, several teams continued to show why they’re favourites to go all the way, while others faced must‑win scenarios to stay alive at the Classic in hopes of their ticket being punched to the quarterfinals.

Dominican Republic 10, Israel 1

The Dominican Republic continued its dominant run through Pool D, defeating Israel 10–1 in Miami and officially clinching a quarterfinal berth.
The turning point came in the second inning when the Dominican lineup completely flipped the game. After a bases-loaded walk by Geraldo Perdomo opened the scoring, Fernando Tatis Jr. crushed a grand slam on a 78 mph changeup from Israel starter Ryan Prager, sending it over the left-field wall to break the game open.
This marked the first grand slam for a Dominican player in Classic history.
Tatis wasn’t finished. Later in the game, he added a two-run single, finishing with six RBIs, setting yet another Team Dominican Republic record and one of the highest totals in Classic history, narrowly below the record seven RBIs set by Ken Griffey Jr. in 2006 vs. South Africa. Another standout moment came in the fourth inning when Oneil Cruz launched a solo homer measured at 115.9 mph off the bat, showcasing the raw power that has made the Dominican lineup one of the most feared in the tournament.
Israel struggled offensively throughout the game, managing only two hits and never seriously threatening the Dominican pitching staff, led by Brayan Bello, who went five innings and struck out seven.
The victory keeps the Dominican Republic undefeated at 3–0, guaranteeing them a place in the quarterfinals alongside Venezuela in Pool D. The Dominicans will now face Venezuela on March 11 in a game that will determine the winner of Pool D and could affect their quarterfinal seeding.

South Korea 7, Australia 2

South Korea delivered one of its most critical performances of the tournament, defeating Australia 7–2 in Pool C at the Tokyo Dome in a game loaded with tiebreaker implications. South Korea needed a win by at least five runs while allowing two or fewer to advance, while Australia would have advanced with a loss by four runs or fewer.
The game’s momentum swung early thanks to designated hitter Moon Bo-gyeong. In the second inning, Moon crushed a 430-foot two-run homer off Australian starter Lachlan Wells to give South Korea the lead. He followed with an RBI double that capped a four-run start through three innings and later added an RBI single in the fifth, finishing with three hits and four RBIs and pushing his tournament total to 11 RBIs, by far the most of any player so far in the Classic.
Australia briefly threatened in the fifth when Robbie Glendinning launched a solo home run, cutting the deficit to four runs — still within the margin that would have forced a tiebreaker. South Korea quickly restored the five-run cushion, but the tension persisted. In the eighth, Travis Bazzana singled in a run, making it 6–2 and again putting Australia temporarily back in position to advance.
The ninth inning didn’t let up any pressure either. A grounder deflected off reliever Jack O’Loughlin, allowing Park Hae-min to reach third, and Ahn Hyun-min’s sacrifice fly scored the run that restored the critical five-run lead at 7–2. Australia still had a chance in the bottom of the ninth with a runner on, but Jung Hoo Lee made a diving catch in right field on a deep drive from Rixon Wingrove, keeping South Korea alive.
With the win, South Korea advanced to the WBC quarterfinals for the first time since 2009, joining Japan as Pool C’s qualifiers. For Australia, the loss was crushing: they were within a single run of advancing multiple times but ultimately fell short in one of the most dramatic finishes of the tournament.

USA 5, Mexico 3

One of the most anticipated games of the pool stage took place in Houston, where Team USA defeated Mexico 5–3 in a matchup between the two undefeated teams in Pool B. With both sides entering at 2–0, the winner would take control of the group and move significantly closer to securing a quarterfinal berth.
The United States threatened immediately in the first inning after Aaron Judge singled and Kyle Schwarber and Alex Bregman drew walks to load the bases, but Mexico starter Manny Barreda escaped the jam by striking out Cal Raleigh, keeping the game scoreless and energizing the divided Houston crowd.
Mexico then flashed its defence in the second inning when Brice Turang doubled, and Roman Anthony attempted to score from first, but a perfect relay to Alejandro Kirk cut him down at the plate to preserve the scoreless ballgame.
However, the game’s momentum completely flipped in the third inning. Mexico appeared ready to rally after a single from Jarren Duran, but Judge fired a 91.8-mph throw from right field to throw out Joey Ortiz attempting to advance to third, ending the threat and igniting USA chants from the sold-out crowd.
Moments later, Judge ignited the offence. After Bryce Harper reached base, the American captain roped an opposite-field two-run homer to right field to open the scoring. The inning quickly snowballed when Roman Anthony followed with a three-run home run, capping a five-run third inning that proved decisive.
Meanwhile, Paul Skenes dominated in his WBC debut, touching 100 mph and holding Mexico to just one hit through four innings with seven strikeouts.
Despite the early deficit, Mexico fought back, largely thanks to Jarren Duran, who delivered the biggest offensive performance of the night, launching solo home runs in both the sixth and eighth innings to keep Mexico within striking distance.
However, Garrett Whitlock closed the door to secure the win for Team USA. The victory moves them to 3–0 in Pool B while firmly grasping a quarterfinal berth.

Puerto Rico 4, Cuba 1

Puerto Rico continued its strong start in Pool A with a 4–1 victory over Cuba in San Juan, a result that keeps the host nation firmly in control of one of the tightest groups in the tournament. After a rain delay postponed first pitch by more than an hour, the game began with both teams looking to establish early momentum, and Puerto Rico did exactly that with key offensive bursts in the middle innings.
The turning point came in the second inning when Puerto Rican captain Martín Maldonado lined a bases-clearing double down the line, opening the scoring and putting his team up 3–0.
Puerto Rico added an insurance run in the fifth inning when Willi Castro doubled home a run, extending the lead to 4–0. That run proved valuable later, as Cuba managed to break through in the sixth inning with an RBI double from Alfredo Despaigne that produced Cuba’s lone run in the game.
Across the night, Puerto Rico’s lineup combined for just six hits while managing to score four, whereas Cuba was held to just two hits and one run, leaving seven runners on base. So far, this type of offence has been uncharacteristic of Cuba, which plated ten runs over its first two games.
With Puerto Rico now 3–0 and atop Pool A, Canada’s path to a quarterfinal spot has become significantly more difficult. Canada currently sits at 1–1, and its upcoming games with Puerto Rico and Cuba suddenly feel like a must-win if the Canadians hope to finish in the top two and punch their ticket to the quarterfinals for the first time in program history. World Baseball Classic history.

Other scores:

Venezuela 4, Nicaragua 0
Columbia 4, Panama 3
Great Britain 8, Brazil 1

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