iStock/Thinkstock(LOS ANGELES) — The United States is headed to its very first World Baseball Classic championship game.

Team USA defeated Japan 2-1 on Tuesday to advance to the final. They will now face Puerto Rico, who remains undefeated in the tournament.

The winner-take-all game will take place Wednesday night at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium.</s>The 2017 World Baseball Classic championship game is an all-American affair as Team USA takes on Puerto Rico Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

Puerto Rico advanced to the championship by defeating the Netherlands, 4-3, in 11 innings Monday, and the United States reached the final by defeating Japan, 2-1, on Tuesday.

Here's what you need to know about Wednesday's winner-take-all game in L.A.

What time is the United States vs. Puerto Rico final in the 2017 World Baseball Classic?

Team USA and Puerto Rico play at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

How can I watch or stream United States-Puerto Rico final in the 2017 World Baseball Classic?

The Team USA-Puerto Rico game is on MLB Network and streaming on MLB.tv.

Who is the home team in the United States-Puerto Rico final in the 2017 World Baseball Classic?

Though the game is being played in Los Angeles, Puerto Rico will be the home team by virtue of winning a coin toss.

Who are the starting pitchers in the United States-Puerto Rico final in the 2017 World Baseball Classic?

The United States will send Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman to the mound, and Puerto Rico will start Mets right-hander Seth Lugo. The two faced off Friday in championship-round pool play, with Puerto Rico winning, 6-5.</s>Download the CBS Sports App today and get instant NCAA tournament news and alerts, plus get the latest picks and upsets from SportsLine!

The United States of America moves to its first ever World Baseball Classic final, by virtue of taking down two-time champion Japan in the semifinals on Tuesday night, 2-1. The final will be on Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT in Dodger Stadium vs. Puerto Rico, which is undefeated to this point.

Here are nine things to know from the USA victory:

1. USA fans again got a taste of the Japanese atmosphere

Japan won the event in both 2006 and 2009 and then advanced to AT&T Park in the 2013 semifinals. The Japanese fans travel well and get plenty of Japanese Americans to the games as well. They do things a bit differently than the USA fans or even the loud and extremely enthusiastic fans from Latin American countries.

They have bands. Said bands play certain songs during every Japanese at-bat, with each hitter being assigned a song at times.

Here’s a sample from the official WBC Twitter account:

I also heard the “Back to the Future” theme song a few times, which is all kinds of awesome.

This is definitely different than what many of us are used to. I can see it being a very polarizing topic where some think it’s fun and others absolutely despise it.

For at least the first five innings, it was raining in Dodger Stadium, which is a rarity. Sometimes it was pretty steady but it didn’t really let up until the sixth inning. It picked up on occasion the rest of the way as well. The grounds crew had to become involved a few times, notably around home plate and on the mound, obviously.

So this means the conditions were a bit tougher than usual, notably on hard groundballs where the ball would be picking up wetness on its way to the fielder. Ian Kinsler and Brandon Crawford uncharacteristically had trouble on one ball each.

Of course, this happens sometimes in Major League Baseball, and the players are more equipped for it.

In the Nippon Professional Baseball (Japan’s major league), most stadiums are domes with turf. For the most part, the outstanding Japan defense handled itself well.

3. USA’s first run scored thanks to an error

I said “for the most part,” because USA’s first run was unearned. Christian Yelich hit a relatively hard -- but not scorching or anything -- grounder right at second baseman Ryosuke Kikuchi, and he booted it.

Bear in mind, this is a man who has four Golden Gloves (NPB’s version of the Gold Glove, obviously) in four seasons and is considered a defensive wizard. He committed only four errors in 836 chances last season (.995). The weather most certainly had a hand in this one.

And USA would make Japan pay. After a Nolan Arenado strikeout and Eric Hosmer walk, Andrew McCutchen would deliver the two-out, go-ahead single

With one out in the bottom of the sixth inning and Japan trailing 1-0, Kikuchi clubbed a home run off USA reliever Nate Jones to right field. It was a wall-scraper and initially it looked like McCutchen -- how about that coincidence? -- robbed him. Instead, Cutch just missed the ball and the game was tied.

Sure, maybe the rain helped a little, but the pitchers had to deal with wet baseballs as well.

Tanner Roark went for USA and threw four scoreless innings. He allowed only two hits and a walk. There was a timely double play and a hard ball hit or two, but it was mostly soft contact or routine fly balls. He pitched to contact, too, only striking out one.

He was outshined, in my opinion, by Japan starter Tomoyuki Sugano. In six innings of work, he gave up just one run on three hits, but that was an unearned run as mentioned above. He struck out six while walking just one, and that was with two outs and a base to work with. The USA hitters were stuck attempting to check swings often due to being caught so off-guard by his arsenal, too.

6. Power, weather and the contact play worked for USA in the eighth

Brandon Crawford picked up a one-out single that was hit awfully hard to right in the eighth. Then Ian Kinsler hit a ball that looked like it was going to end up over the left-center fence. Crawford didn’t score due to what looked like caution with the wet/muddy infield. So it was second and third with one out for Adam Jones, who had been clutch throughout the WBC.

On the hill for Japan was its biggest strikeout pitcher in Kodai Senga, who struck out the first four USA hitters he faced and was leading the entire WBC in strikeouts to this point. Jones isn’t exactly a contact hitter, either, but he came through and put the ball in play.

It was a soft grounder to third base, but Crawford was coming home on the contact play. He probably would’ve been out, but the weather came into play again, as Japan third baseman Nobuhiro Matsuda couldn’t initially handle the ball and had to call an audible by getting the easy out at first.

And USA would head to the bottom of the eighth with a 2-1 lead.

7. Melancon and Neshek got huge outs in the eighth

Mark Melancon gave up a single and then a sac bunt, giving Japan the tying run on second base with one out and Kikuchi coming to the plate. Melancon isn’t a strikeout artist compared to other stud closers, but he got the huge strikeout.

Of course, he needed to be bailed out after walking Nori Aoki on four pitches to get to Japan’s cleanup hitter, Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh, who had 44 homers last year in NPB. He also has three so far in WBC play. Neshek worked him to a two-strike count and got a somewhat deep fly to nestle in McCutchen’s glove in right field.

Close call for USA? Yes, yes it was. The result is all that matters, though.

There was no close call in the ninth inning for Gregerson. He needed only seven pitches to dispatch of Japan’s 5-7 hitters while striking out the final batter. USA is now 5-2 in this tournament with Gregerson saving three games in four appearances. In his four innings, he hasn’t even allowed a hit, much less a run. He’s struck out three while walking one, good for a 0.25 WHIP and 0.00 ERA.

Small samples? Of course, but this entire event is a small sample. It’s not a marathon like Major League Baseball. It’s a sprint and Gregerson has stormed out of the block.

9. USA moves on to the championship game

Puerto Rico awaits for all the marbles on Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET on MLB Network.

The two teams last squared off last Friday in San Diego’s Petco Park, with Puerto Rico winning a thriller, 6-5 , that saw USA leave the tying run on third base -- though it was Brandon Crawford and he shouldn’t have been called safe when sliding into third. Let’s hope there’s just as much drama. That would be fun.

Seth Lugo will get the ball for Puerto Rico against Marcus Stroman for USA. It was the pitching matchup last time the two teams faced each other. Stroman didn’t fare so well, coughing up six straight hits in the first inning. He would end up settling down, allowing eight hits and four runs in 4 2/3 innings. Lugo worked 5 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on five hits.

Expect the atmosphere to be crazy inside Dodger Stadium. Let’s hope the rain stays away this time.

We live-blogged the action with witty commentary, complaints, snide remarks and out usual excellent baseball knowledge. Check it out at your leisure:

If the live blog isn’t displayed below, click here to reload the page .</s>LOS ANGELES -- The eagle has landed on top.

The United States routed Puerto Rico 8-0 on Wednesday night to win its first World Baseball Classic title in four tries behind six hitless innings from Marcus Stroman.

The Americans planted their eagle statue mascot on the mound in celebration, a blue cap jauntily hanging from one of its large wings.

"It's a different feeling when the 'USA' is on your chest," first baseman Eric Hosmer said. "We wanted to get the U.S. back on top of the baseball world, and we did that."

For a sport known as America's pastime, the U.S. had struggled since the WBC began in 2006. The Americans twice lost in the second round, and they went out in the semifinals in 2009.

This time was different.

"These guys were here to do their best," Team USA general manager Joe Torre said. "The thing I marveled at was how quickly they came together, and [manager] Jimmy [Leyland] deserves a lot of that credit. They're just a great group who understood what this event is all about."

Accepting the gleaming silver trophy from Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, Leyland told the crowd, "This is for the men and women who serve our country."

After the final out, the Americans massed on the mound, hugging and high-fiving one another while fireworks exploded in center field. Some of them grabbed a U.S. flag and circled the warning track, waving it in celebration with fans in the stands.

"There was only one thing on our mind, was to win this thing and to do whatever we can to win," left fielder Christian Yelich said. "That helped us come together."

Puerto Rico's fans saluted their team with a standing ovation, and the players responded by clapping.

"The satisfaction is huge," manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "It has filled our hearts."

Ian Kinsler hit a two-run homer in the third inning to give the United States an early lead in Wednesday night's World Baseball Classic championship game. Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

Puerto Rico lost for the first time in eight WBC games after outscoring the opposition 55-26. The U.S. territory finished runner-up for the second time, having lost to the Dominican Republic in the 2013 final.

"They're loaded with All-Star players. They outpitched us. They outscored us. They outhit us," Rodriguez said. "We came here to win the championship, but with a record of 7-1, we feel satisfied, pleased with what we were able to achieve."

Tournament MVP Stroman avenged his shakiness in the Americans' 6-5 loss to Puerto Rico during pool play. The right-hander from the Toronto Blue Jays gave up one hit in six-plus innings, struck out three and walked one on 73 pitches.

"I love pitching in these moments," he said. "I love the atmosphere. I feel like the bigger the game, the more I'm able to get up, the more effective I am."

Stroman allowed just three balls past the infield until Angel Pagan's double in the left-field corner leading off the seventh. Afterward, Stroman departed to a standing ovation, having staked the Americans to a 7-0 lead with the help of Ian Kinsler's two-run homer.

In 2013, Stroman tweeted that he was going to play for Puerto Rico, where his mother was born. Instead, he wore the red, white and blue of the U.S.

"It was an unbelievable experience," he said, "and I'll be back in four years to defend the title."

For the tournament, Stroman allowed 12 hits and four runs in 15 1/3 innings, with a 2.35 ERA, nine strikeouts and two walks.

"Marcus set the tone right off the bat and just was dealing," Yelich said, "and we kind of fed off that and we were just rolling ever since."

Stroman walked Carlos Beltran to lead off the second, but the defense helped him out. Yadier Molina hit the ball to shortstop Brandon Crawford, who started a double play. Stroman struck out Javier Baez to end the inning.

The U.S. pounded out 13 hits and finished with a 6-2 record while making the final for the first time in front of 51,565 at Dodger Stadium.

Kinsler homered off an 0-1 pitch from Seth Lugo into left-center field in the third, scoring Jonathan Lucroy, who singled leading off.

Lugo of the New York Mets allowed four runs and five hits, struck out seven and walked four in four innings.

The right-hander won his first two starts of the tournament, including in the second round against Stroman and the U.S.

During that game on Friday, Stroman gave up six consecutive singles in a four-run first inning and took the loss in San Diego.

The Americans made it 4-0 in the fifth Wednesday on RBI singles by Yelich and Andrew McCutchen.

Fans wore flags of both countries as capes and decorated their faces in team colors. Puerto Rico boosters pounded cowbells, tooted horns and blew whistles early on, before their team fell behind 4-0.

American fans were on their feet chanting "U-S-A" when their team loaded the bases in the seventh with two outs. They were rewarded with Crawford's two-run single that chased J.C. Romero, extending the lead to 6-0.

The U.S. tacked on another run on Giancarlo Stanton's RBI single off Hiram Burgos that got past diving shortstop Francisco Lindor.

The Americans defeated two-time champion Japan in the semifinals, while Puerto Rico beat the Netherlands to reach the championship game.

The three WBC games at Dodger Stadium drew 109,892.</s>Before the United States began its World Baseball Classic run a couple weeks ago, I wrote about how downright mediocre the team’s track record had been at the event. Things have changed!

Going into 2017, the U.S. was 10-10 in three WBC appearances, with a below-average run differential after accounting for its strength of schedule. Since the best American players were once again sitting the event out, there wasn’t much reason to think U.S. fortunes were due for an improvement this time around. Except the U.S. is now in the WBC final, beating Japan — only the most successful team in WBC history — to get there. Suffice to say, it’s been a wild, impressive ride for the Americans.

But their greatest test might come in Wednesday night’s championship game against Puerto Rico. The blond-dyed baseball machine from the Caribbean is in the midst of the most dominant WBC performance of any team since the event began in 2006.

Using the same Simple Rating System (SRS) framework I employed in my earlier story to adjust for the overall quality of each country’s WBC program, we can measure a team’s performance in each individual tournament relative to how it played against their opponents. And this season’s Puerto Rican national team is crushing it:

In the grand scheme of things, across every WBC game ever played, the U.S. still has a slightly below-average SRS rating, far below Puerto Rico’s mark. According to SRS, Puerto Rico is the third-best team in WBC history, trailing only Japan and the Dominican Republic.

But if America does have one edge on Wednesday, it’s that the game is being played on U.S. soil, at Dodger Stadium. In the WBC, host teams outscore opponents by about one more run per game than they do when playing elsewhere, which translates to about 5 to 10 extra percentage points of win probability (or nearly twice what home-field is worth in Major League Baseball). That probably isn’t enough to close the gap between the U.S. and Puerto Rico completely, but in concert with Marcus Stroman taking the hill for the Stars and Stripes, Team USA might have a fighting chance to win this thing after all.

CORRECTION (March 22, 3:00 p.m.): A table in an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the records of the U.S. and Puerto Rico teams. Puerto Rico is 7-0 in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, not 7-1. The U.S. is 5-2, not 5-3.</s>LOS ANGELES – Breaking down Tuesday’s semifinal game of the World Baseball Classic between USA and Japan.

The game: It was the greatest pitching duel of the tournament for USA, knowing that one little mistake, one bad pitch, could end their championship hopes. USA’s staff never relented, giving up a solo home run, but that was it, shutting down Japan the rest of the game for their first trip to the WBC championship game.

The hero of the night was Ian Kinsler, who hit a one-out double off the left-center-field fence advancing Brandon Crawford to third base. Team Japan brought the infield in, and got just what they wanted when Adam Jones hit a slow roller to sure-handed third baseman Noburhiro Matsuda. If he fields the ball cleanly, Crawford is out by 10 feet at the plate.

But he dropped it. He recovered in time to throw out Jones at first base, but the critical run scored.

State of Championship Round: The emotional, dramatic World Baseball Classic has reached its final day. It will be USA against Team Puerto Rico, who’s undefeated in the tournament, and outscoring their opponents, 55-18.

Puerto Rico, who lost the title game in 2013 to the Dominican Republic, is seeking vengeance, desperately hoping to capture its first championship.

It will be Toronto Blue Jays ace Marcus Stroman pitching for Team USA against Puerto Rico starter Seth Lugo of the New York Mets.

Pivot point: Team USA was hanging on for dear life in the eighth inning when USA manager Jim Leyland called upon Pat Neshek with two runners on and two outs. Neshek, facing cleanup hitter Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh, threw a 70-mph knuckle-curve and got him to fly out to right fielder Andrew McCutchen for the final out.

Neshek walked off the mound raising his hands high in the air, and USA was on their way to the championship game.

Man of the moment: USA left fielder Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen, who hit a huge two-run double that broke the game open in USA’s 6-3 victory over the Dominican Republic to vault them into the championship game, delivered once again on this night.

He hit a two-out, run-scoring single in the fourth inning that accounted for USA’s lone run, and the only blemish against Japan starter Tomoyuki Sugano.

And he caught the crucial third out of the eighth inning when Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh just missed hitting a home run.

Needing a mulligan: Team Japan second baseman Ryosuke Kikuchi. Kikuchi cost his team the first run of the game, and nearly another, with blunders in back-to-back innings. It was in the fourth inning when USA outfielder Christian Yelich hit a sharp grounder towards Kikuchi, who was playing almost in shallow right fielder. The ball went right through him, Yelich kept hustling, and wound up on second. The error proved costly when Andrew McCutchen capitalized with a two-out, run-scoring single.

Kikuchi almost cost Japan a run in the third inning, too, when Giancarlo Stanton hit a tailor-made double play grounder to third baseman Nobuhiro Sakaomoto. Sakomoto threw to Kikuchi at second, who fired to first, for what appeared to be a double play. Only the replay showed that Kikuchi wasn’t even close to second base, and Posey was safe.

Although Kikuchi provided Japan’s lone run with his homer, he also struck out in the eighth with a runner on second base.

Manager’s special: Leyland raised some eyebrows when he pulled starter Tanner Roark after yielding two hits in four shutout innings, and throwing only 48 pitches. It lowered USA’s starter’s ERA to just 1.50 in 30 innings during the WBC.

Yet, despite Roark’s domination, Leyland called upon Chicago White Sox reliever Nate Jones.

It looked as if it would work to perfection as Jones pitched a 1-2-3 fifth inning, and retired the first four batters he faced. Yet, with one out in the sixth, and on a 1-and-2 pitch, he gave up a homer on a 98-mph fastball to right field to Ryosuke Kikuchi.

Leyland turned to left-hander Andrew Miller, who closed out the sixth, keeping the score tied at 1-apiece. They wound up using six relievers to close out the game.

What you missed on TV: The atmosphere was like a high-school football game with the damp air, fog rolling in, and a large band from Japan that constantly played and cheered when Team Japan was at the plate.

Yet, unlike the atmosphere in Miami against the Dominican Republic that unraveled Roark, it was as if he fed off the energy on this night.

Roark, who had pitched only 1 1/3 innings in the WBC, cruised on this night, pitching five shout innings in what he called the biggest game of his career.

“It's usually the team that pitches the best normally has the best shot of winning,’’ Leyland said. “It's very rare that you outslug anybody. You don't do it for a whole season. Once in a great, great while, maybe.

“But for the most part, it's about the pitching, catching the ball, throwing it to the right base, just playing basic baseball.

“There is nothing tricky about it.’’</s>LOS ANGELES – Breaking down Tuesday’s semifinal game of the World Baseball Classic between USA and Japan.



United States 2, Japan 1 



 ***

The game: It was the greatest pitching duel of the tournament for USA, knowing that one little mistake, one bad pitch, could end their championship hopes. USA’s staff never relented, giving up a solo home run, but that was it, shutting down Japan the rest of the game for their first trip to the WBC championship game.

The hero of the night was Ian Kinsler, who hit a one-out double off the left-center-field fence advancing Brandon Crawford to third base. Team Japan brought the infield in, and got just what they wanted when Adam Jones hit a slow roller to sure-handed third baseman Noburhiro Matsuda. If he fields the ball cleanly, Crawford is out by 10 feet at the plate.

But he dropped it. He recovered in time to throw out Jones at first base, but the critical run scored.





State of Championship Round: The emotional, dramatic World Baseball Classic has reached its final day. It will be USA against Team Puerto Rico, who’s undefeated in the tournament, and outscoring their opponents, 55-18.

Puerto Rico, who lost the title game in 2013 to the Dominican Republic, is seeking vengeance, desperately hoping to capture its first championship.

It will be Toronto Blue Jays ace Marcus Stroman pitching for Team USA against Puerto Rico starter Seth Lugo of the New York Mets.

Pivot point: Team USA was hanging on for dear life in the eighth inning when USA manager Jim Leyland called upon Pat Neshek with two runners on and two outs. Neshek, facing cleanup hitter Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh, threw a 70-mph knuckle-curve and got him to fly out to right fielder Andrew McCutchen for the final out.

Neshek walked off the mound raising his hands high in the air, and USA was on their way to the championship game.

Man of the moment: USA left fielder Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen, who hit a huge two-run double that broke the game open in USA’s 6-3 victory over the Dominican Republic to vault them into the championship game, delivered once again on this night.

He hit a two-out, run-scoring single in the fourth inning that accounted for USA’s lone run, and the only blemish against Japan starter Tomoyuki Sugano.

And he caught the crucial third out of the eighth inning when Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh just missed hitting a home run.

Needing a mulligan: Team Japan second baseman Ryosuke Kikuchi. Kikuchi cost his team the first run of the game, and nearly another, with blunders in back-to-back innings. It was in the fourth inning when USA outfielder Christian Yelich hit a sharp grounder towards Kikuchi, who was playing almost in shallow right fielder. The ball went right through him, Yelich kept hustling, and wound up on second. The error proved costly when Andrew McCutchen capitalized with a two-out, run-scoring single.

Kikuchi almost cost Japan a run in the third inning, too, when Giancarlo Stanton hit a tailor-made double play grounder to third baseman Nobuhiro Sakaomoto. Sakomoto threw to Kikuchi at second, who fired to first, for what appeared to be a double play. Only the replay showed that Kikuchi wasn’t even close to second base, and Posey was safe.

Although Kikuchi provided Japan’s lone run with his homer, he also struck out in the eighth with a runner on second base.

Manager’s special: Leyland raised some eyebrows when he pulled starter Tanner Roark after yielding two hits in four shutout innings, and throwing only 48 pitches. It lowered USA’s starter’s ERA to just 1.50 in 30 innings during the WBC.

Yet, despite Roark’s domination, Leyland called upon Chicago White Sox reliever Nate Jones.

It looked as if it would work to perfection as Jones pitched a 1-2-3 fifth inning, and retired the first four batters he faced. Yet, with one out in the sixth, and on a 1-and-2 pitch, he gave up a homer on a 98-mph fastball to right field to Ryosuke Kikuchi.

Leyland turned to left-hander Andrew Miller, who closed out the sixth, keeping the score tied at 1-apiece. They wound up using six relievers to close out the game.

What you missed on TV: The atmosphere was like a high-school football game with the damp air, fog rolling in, and a large band from Japan that constantly played and cheered when Team Japan was at the plate.

Yet, unlike the atmosphere in Miami against the Dominican Republic that unraveled Roark, it was as if he fed off the energy on this night.

Roark, who had pitched only 1 1/3 innings in the WBC, cruised on this night, pitching five shout innings in what he called the biggest game of his career.

“It's usually the team that pitches the best normally has the best shot of winning,’’ Leyland said. “It's very rare that you outslug anybody. You don't do it for a whole season. Once in a great, great while, maybe.

“But for the most part, it's about the pitching, catching the ball, throwing it to the right base, just playing basic baseball.

“There is nothing tricky about it.’’</s>LOS ANGELES — There is a remarkable spirit in the Puerto Rico national baseball team, the one that played Monday into the World Baseball Classic final. With that spirit, there is a showman, one that plays to the crowd that is present and calls to the people of their island. Thought inferior to neighboring teams not long ago in the Dominican Republic, in Venezuela, in Cuba, in America, the Puerto Rico baseball franchise has grown into the place of Molina, of Lindor, of Baez, of Correa, others, men — most of them young — so that the game suits them, and they, it. Maybe they do lack the numbers of players. But, then, they only require nine at any one time.

They play, for one, as if there are no consequences in defeat. As though the greater regret would be in not having a hell of a time doing it, whatever the outcome, even when the outcome is most important of all.

And now the team that only lost in the WBC final four years ago is again the team that is maybe better than you thought, that wins on small deeds in a tournament designed to expose small deeds, to turn them into catastrophe, that throws friends and strangers into two weeks of chaos and dares them to play ball.

Puerto Rico beat the Netherlands, 4-3, in 11 innings at Dodger Stadium. They are 7-0 in the tournament. They won on a walk-off sacrifice fly by Eddie Rosario after WBC rules placed runners at first and second to start the 11th, after the Dutch rolled into a double play with the bases loaded in the top of the inning.

“It means a lot,” said Carlos Correa, the 22-year-old Houston Astros shortstop turned third baseman for this event, “because Puerto Ricans have gone through a very difficult situation currently and we were able to unite our country. … We have united the country through sports.”

Also, through personality. Through blond heads. Through razor-sharp baseball that typically has no place in March. Through a big ol’ party that for three or four hours becomes a ballgame.

“I think,” Netherlands manager Hensley Meulens said, “they’re the strongest team we’ve faced in the tournament.”

So, the first inning Monday night. Seems like forever ago, granted. Given it ended 2-2, no blood, it would hardly be worth a mention, except for it being among the stranger and cooler innings ever, and except it began with the Netherlands conducting itself as if it had never heard of Yadier Molina and ended with the entire Puerto Rican team conducting an aerobics class at home plate, only with patriotism. Like they flash-mobbed the WBC, the tournament that provides the rare games on U.S. soil in which players grant each other their baseball emotions, their baseball cultures. Want to flip a bat? Go. Want to scream to the heavens? Louder, dude. Want to expose your chest, Superman style? It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Nelson Cruz.

Which is, among other things, what makes the WBC so charming. So watchable. So … fun.

Anyway, they had a flag. They did jumping jacks. They clung to each other and danced in circles. They rubbed their own yellow hair and their neighbor’s yellow hair, all of it yellow for the benefit of this tournament. By opening day there’ll be some pretty serious conversations to be had about roots.

As we were saying, this was in the first inning.

Correa homered to tie the score, 2-2, off a curveball from Rick van den Hurk that hung for so long the dry cleaners were within their rights to keep it.

If you didn’t know the score or the inning, and had just wandered up the hill from Echo Park because, why not, there were plenty of empty seats, you might’ve believed Puerto Rico had won on a walk-off home run. In actuality, there had been all of four outs recorded, Netherlands had just thrown its 16th pitch, and the folks who were here hadn’t yet completely untangled the whole Curacao-Netherlands-Aruba connection.

And that wasn’t the half of it, it being the first inning.

I don’t know if the WBC has “annals” yet. They’re only four tournaments into this thing and honestly it’s hard to remember much about any of them, beyond a vague sense they happened. Still, Yadier Molina’s first inning was annals worthy.

Andrelton Simmons, Dutch leadoff hitter, reached first on an infield single. Then Xander Bogaerts was hit with a pitch in the back. Jurickson Profar, up next, squared around and withdrew his bat and then Molina had the ball in his mitt and Simmons was about 15 feet off second base. Molina, who could’ve run the ball out and tagged Simmons he was so far off base, instead picked him off with a throw. Molina moment No. 1.

No longer in a position to bunt, Profar singled to right field. He was very pleased about that. The Netherlands was rallying. So he curled around first base as the throw from right field went to the plate, then turned and threw his arms in the air, encouraging the light crowd to rally up for his squad, and shouted something encouraging to his bench, this all as he trod confidently back to first base. At which point Molina flung the ball to first baseman T.J. Rivera, who tagged the distracted Profar on the right thigh for the second out of the inning. At which point Profar stopped gesturing and shouting and stared into space, presumably thinking, Well that just happened. “For me, that was the game,” Puerto Rico manager Edwin Rodriguez said. “That first inning that Yadi Molina did what he did, for me, that was the game. Again, Yadier Molina came to play.” A disaster for the Netherlands. Right up until five pitches later, when Wladimir Balentien crashed a home run to left field for two runs, which was only the start of it. The start of a game in which neither could shake the other, not until the last ball was in play, not until Puerto Rico had raised its flag again.</s>Marcus Stroman and his family are facing abuse over a simple change of heart.

Stroman on Tuesday revealed to FOX Sports that Puerto Rico baseball fans have been harassing his mother on social media because he chose to represent the United States instead of Puerto Rico at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

“I know a lot of people have been saying bad things to her, going through the process, on social media,” Stroman told FOX Sports. “That’s my mother. I stand by her always. She supports me through everything. I don’t respect some of the comments that were made toward my mother.”

Stroman’s mother is from Puerto Rico, but he’s from Medford, N.Y. Nevertheless, he indicated in 2013 he’d like to pitch for Puerto Rico at the World Baseball Classic.

However, he decided in December to pitch for Team USA.

Puerto Rico fans targeted Stroman’s mother for abuse last week when he took the mound for the U.S. against Puerto Rico in a Pool F game. Naturally, he defended her.

Stroman will start Wednesday’s World Baseball Classic final between the U.S. and Puerto Rico. And he’ll be representing both sides, regardless of how some fans feel about the choices he makes.</s>LOS ANGELES — Carlos Correa was 17 and watching the World Baseball Classic on television four years ago, too young to participate.

When his chance came around this time, the Houston Astros’ star shortstop was up to the task.

Correa hit a two-run homer in the first inning and scored the winning run in the 11th to give Puerto Rico a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Netherlands on Monday night.

Next up is a spot in the championship game.

“When I feel that I’m all excited, I try to calm down, breathe deep and concentrate on what we’re doing,” Correa said. “This is something that we rehearse every day, so we will be able to do it well at the end.”

Eddie Rosario, who went 0 for 4, hit a sacrifice fly to center field in the 11th that drove in Correa, triggering a massive celebration on the field and in the stands from red, white and blue-clad fans pounding cow bells and tooting horns and whistles.

T.J. Rivera’s solo shot in the second put Puerto Rico ahead 3-2.

Puerto Rico will play either two-time champion Japan or the United States for the title on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. The Puerto Ricans also reached the final in 2013, losing to the Dominican Republic 3-0.

Puerto Rico has outscored its opponents 55-18 while going 7-0 in this year’s tournament.

“It means a lot because Puerto Ricans have gone through a very difficult situation currently and we were able to unite our country,” Correa said.

The blond Puerto Rican players, who dyed their hair in a show of unity that has caught on back home, jumped up and down after a lively, emotional and sometimes-testy semifinal that included four replay reviews during the fourth and fifth innings of a game that lasted 4 hours, 19 minutes.

When it was finally over, Kike Hernandez, who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Hiram Burgos raced around the field carrying Puerto Rican flags above their heads.

Curt Smith grounded into a bases-loaded, inning-ending double play for the Netherlands in the 11th, which began with runners on first and second for both teams under tournament rules. It was one of three double plays turned by Puerto Rico.

Gold Glove catcher Yadier Molina’s defense saved Puerto Rico from a potential grand slam in the first inning when Wladimir Balentien’s homer helped the Netherlands to a 2-0 lead, giving orange-clad fans a reason to cheer.

“For me, that was the game,” Puerto Rico manager Edwin Rodriguez said. “Yadier Molina came to play.”

Molina capitalized on two baserunning blunders by the Dutch.

Jorge Lopez allowed a leadoff single to Andrelton Simmons and hit Xander Bogaerts with a pitch. Simmons later wandered off the bag toward third and Molina threw to second, but Simmons couldn’t get back in time and got caught in a rundown.

Jurickson Profar singled to right, but was slow getting back to first while celebrating and was picked off by Molina, who took Rosario’s relay from the outfield. Balentien followed with his mammoth, two-out shot, and celebrated with a bat flip.

“Frustrating for me is the mental errors that we committed,” Netherlands manager Hensley Meulens said. “We talked to the guys before the game about the experience of Yadier Molina behind the plate. If you get too far off, he’ll pick you off, and that’s what happened. Then Jurickson getting the base hit, celebrating and not getting back to the base, that’s unacceptable. That could have been the difference in us winning or not.”

Balentien, who had three hits, has been the top slugger in the WBC, batting .615 (16 for 26) with 12 RBIs. His four homers were one shy of the tournament record. He last played in the major leagues in 2009 and has been playing for Yakult in Japan since 2011.

Edwin Diaz threw high and inside to Balentien in the 10th, causing Balentien to point at his head and shake his finger in a warning to Diaz. Players from both teams came out of the dugout, but the situation didn’t escalate.

Correa came over to calm down Diaz.

“We were full of emotions,” Correa said.

Molina stepped in front of Balentien, as if to dissuade him from approaching the mound, while plate umpire Lance Barksdale attempted to keep the peace. Balentien took a called third strike, one of three punchouts by Diaz in the inning.

“It’s just emotions pouring into that at-bat,” Meulens said. “Coco had two great swings and two fastballs. The next pitches are in the head area inside. Up in the zone like that is kind of dangerous if it hits you.”

Diaz got the victory, and 7-foot-1 Loek Van Mil took the loss.

The Netherlands tied it 3-all in the fifth on Shawn Zarraga’s RBI double to deep left-center. That scored Balentien after he doubled high off the videoboard on the left-field wall with two outs. Jonathan Schoop, who had been intentionally walked, was thrown out at the plate on a strong relay by second baseman Javier Baez, a close play that was reviewed.

Baez turned a double play to end the eighth, fielding Smith’s grounder and tagging Yurendell Decaster as he ran to second before getting Smith at first. Puerto Rican fans burst into chants and waved flags.

Bogaerts grounded into a double play on a chopper up the middle to end the ninth.

Kenley Jansen, the Dodgers closer, retired the side on nine pitches in the bottom of the ninth, striking out two for the Netherlands.
In the final, the United States defeats Puerto Rico 8–0 to claim its first title in the event. Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Marcus Stroman, who threw six hitless innings in the final for Team USA, is named tournament MVP.