The World Baseball Classic championship will be staying in the Western Hemisphere as the United States and Puerto Rico meet in the championship game at Dodger Stadium.

Both squads are seeking their first gold medal in the competition. The U.S. is in the final for the first time; Puerto Rico is in for the second consecutive time. It lost to the Dominican Republic in the 2013 final.

MORE: Eric Byrnes rips players, owners over U.S. reluctance to participate

Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman will start for the U.S.; Mets right-hander Seth Lugo will take the mound for Puerto Rico. Lugo pitched against the U.S. earlier in the tournament, on March 17. He allowed three runs over 5 2/3 innings, including a solo home run by Buster Posey.

Sporting News will have live updates of the 2017 World Baseball Classic final between the United States and Puerto Rico.

9 p.m.: Not only is Lugo pitching for Puerto Rican baseball glory, he's also pitching for a job. He's behind Robert Gsellman for the No. 5 spot in the Mets' loaded rotation. His work in the WBC has kept him in the discussion for at least a long relief role. Mets manager Terry Collins and pitching coach Dan Warthen noticed how well Lugo handled Venezuela's lineup in his first start in the tournament. Lugo will be able to throw the maximum 95 pitches tonight, so he could get very deep into the game if he's dealing.</s>USA beat Japan, the two time champion, to advance to the World Baseball Classic final for the first time in the tournaments history. USa will face Puerto Rico, who beat Netherlands in 11 innings to advance to the finals the previous night.</s>LOS ANGELES (AP) – 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.”

It took 11 innings between Puerto Rico and the Netherlands to decide who would earn a spot in the 2017 World Baseball Classic Championship. Eventually, Puerto Rico won 4-3, Monday night.

Molina capitalized on two baserunning blunders by the Dutch.

To start the game, 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 home run, and celebrated with a bat flip.

It would have been a 4-0 lead, if not for Molina’s throws.

“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.”

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.

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.

Washington Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark will start for the United States against Japan in the semifinals at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night. The Americans are trying to reach the championship game for the first time in four editions of the WBC.

Conditions in Los Angeles will be considerably cooler, with rain in the forecast on Tuesday and Wednesday and temperatures around 65 degrees.

 

 (© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook</s>CLOSE USA TODAY Sports' Jorge L. Ortiz breaks down Team USA's win over Japan and previews Wednesday's championship game matchup between the U.S. and Puerto Rico at Dodger Stadium. USA TODAY Sports

Andrew McCutchen singles to score Christian Yelich in the fourth inning. (Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Sport)

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.





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***

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.’’

Gallery: Best pictures from WBC</s>The United States is in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic for the first time. Team USA advanced to the title game with a 2-1 win over Japan in Tuesday’s semifinals at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Adam Jones’ grounder to third scored the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning. Andrew McCutchen singled in the other U.S. run in the fourth. Sam Dyson got the win and Luke Gregerson the save. Starter Tanner Roark pitched four innings of two-hit, shutout ball. Team USA will play Puerto Rico for the World Baseball Classic championship Wednesday night in LA.</s>Download the CBS Sports App today and get the latest scores, news and alerts from Major League Baseball, plus get daily MLB picks from SportsLine!

On Wednesday night, the United States will play Puerto Rico in the 2017 World Baseball Classic championship game. We’ve detailed how to watch , what the weather will be like , and how the United States can secure its first WBC crown . But what about the lineups?

Here’s a look at the starting nine for the Americans:

That’s right -- because of Team USA’s commitment to alternating players, both Paul Goldschmidt and Buster Posey, two of the best players in the world, will be on the bench to begin the championship game. Not ideal. The rest of the lineup is about what you’d expect.

The only change from last game? Hernandez’s insertion in center field in place of Reymond Fuentes. We’ll see if it pays off.</s>Download the CBS Sports App today and get the latest scores, news and alerts from Major League Baseball, plus get daily MLB picks from SportsLine!

Wednesday night in Dodger Stadium, the United States and Puerto Rico will play one final game to determine the 2017 World Baseball Classic ( 9 p.m. ET: How to watch USA-Puerto Rico ). As was the case when these two teams met in second-round pool play ( PR 6, USA 5 ), right-hander Marcus Stroman of the Blue Jays will go for the U.S. opposite right-hander Seth Lugo of the Mets for Puerto Rico.

So what’s it going to take for the U.S. to top Puerto Rico in this winner-take-all affair? Consider what follows to be a non-exhaustive list ...

Starting pitching has been a pronounced strength for Team USA throughout this, its deepest WBC run ever. However, Stroman’s start against Puerto Rico in pool play was an exception, as he allowed four runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings of work. Stroman walked only one on the night and spotted 51 of his 77 pitches for strikes. However, he was hit hard in the zone, as his line for the game will tell you. This might be an emotional outing for Stroman, who has had to defend himself and his mother for choosing to pitch for the U.S. over Puerto Rico. Keeping those emotions in check will be key.

This goes for Stroman and whoever else pitches against Puerto Rico in this game. You know, of course, that P.R.’s two-three-four hitters -- Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa and Carlos Beltran -- are excellent hitters. They’ve also been producing at a high level throughout the 2017 WBC. Coming into Wednesday night’s final, Lindor owns a WBC OPS of 1.221, Correa checks in at 1.463 and Beltran is at 1.065. If you limit the damage that heart of the order does, then the rest of the PR lineup should be manageable. That’ll be a real test for the US staff in the final.

Don’t hit the ball on the ground

Puerto Rico’s infield defense is strong. In Lindor, you have one of the best defensive shortstops in the game today. Javier Baez, the second baseman, is of course an elite fielder, and Correa, a shortstop, has looked strong at the less-premium position of third base during the tournament. Fortunately for the U.S., Lugo’s ground-ball tendencies aren’t as strong as you would think given his repertoire (sinker and high-spin curve are probably his best two offerings). However, he attacks them, the U.S. lineup will do well to elevate the ball against Lugo and keep their balls in play out of the teeth of the P.R. defense.

Do damage in the middle innings

Puerto Rico boasts one of the best young closers in the game in Edwin Diaz. However, the bridge from Lugo to Diaz is much less certain. That Hector Santiago has worked high-leverage relief innings for Puerto Rico in this tournament says a lot. If the game’s tight, then the U.S. probably needs to get its licks in before Diaz, coming off an off day, takes the bump.

The Rockies third baseman might be the best all-around player on the U.S. roster, but he’s not hitting. Coming into the final, Areando in the WBC has batted .136/.208/.318, and he’s coming off a performance against Japan in the semifinals in which he went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts. U.S. manager Jim Leyland seems to have forgotten that Alex Bregman is on the roster, so there’s no reason to think Arenado won’t start in the final. That’s perfectly reasonable, given Arenado’s defensive value and the sample size underpinning his offensive struggles. On Wednesday, however, the Americans might need a big hit from the guy who has cracked 83 homers over the past two MLB seasons (and, before you say something, 38 away from Coors Field over that span).

The U.S. has only one stolen base (by Eric Hosmer, it should be noted). That’s a remarkably risk-averse approach, but it’s a wise one given the power up and down the lineup. It would behoove the Americans to stick to that strategy Wednesday given that “Death to Running Things” Yadier Molina will be behind the plate for Puerto Rico. Molina has already cut down more than his share of runners, attentive or otherwise , in the WBC, so let’s not test him.

People, we’re talking about one isolated game of baseball in March. Baseball has so much structural parity and randomness that sketching out what will happen in advance is a fool’s errand. It’s easy to forget this across the sprawl of the six-month regular season, but weird bounces, bloop hits and other flavors of happenstance can play an outsized role in any one game. Lest we forget, this is one game. If it’s close, then the U.S. might need that lucky break to get past an undefeated Puerto Rico squadron.

Now let’s do this.</s>Not even the rain could stop history. Under the veil of a persistent mist at Dodger Stadium, Team USA faced Japan in the last game of the semifinal round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic Tuesday night. A tough match up for any team as Japan went into the semis undefeated. But much like the rain, the Americans were persistent as well.

It was a scoreless game through nearly fourth innings in Los Angeles until Andrew McCutchen stepped up to the plate. McCutchen hit an RBI single and gave Team USA the 1-0 lead.

Japan needed a jolt and Ryosuke Kikuchi gave it to them with a solo homerun in the sixth inning to tie the game at one apiece.

USA fans once again looked to the man now being called “Captain America,” Adam Jones. The San Diego product broke the tie in the eighth inning with a groundout to third base which allowed Brandon Crawford to score. That wound up being the deciding run in the Americans’ 2-1 victory over Japan.

This is the first time the United States will play in the World Baseball Classic final. Team USA faces Puerto Rico in the title game at Dodger Stadium Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m. PST.</s>If you haven’t been paying attention to the World Baseball Classic, now is a pretty good time to start.

The United States is on the verge of playing in the final for the first time ever thanks to a memorable victory over the Dominican Republic, but the Americans first will have to overcome undefeated Japan at Dodger Stadium in the second semifinal.

The Washington Nationals’ Tanner Roark will get the start on the mound for Team USA, while Tomoyuki Sugano will get the ball for Japan.

Puerto Rico awaits the winner in the final.

Here’s how you can watch Team USA vs. Japan online.</s>For the first time in the World Baseball Classic, the USA have reached the final of the competition. In rainy conditions at Dodger Stadium, USA defeated the previously perfect Japan by a score of 2-1 an intense matchup.

Once again, the Americans got great pitching out of their starter, which has been solid for a majority of the tournament. Tonight, it was Tanner Roark, who had not seen much action before taking the mound against the Japanese. He was stellar, throwing four scoreless innings, while giving up just two hits and a walk, while striking out one batter.

It took a while, but there was finally a breakthrough in the top of the fourth inning. The wet conditions certainly played a factor in the scoring after Ryosuke Kikuchi could not corral a ground ball hit to him. The error allowed Christian Yelich, who has had a sensational Classic, reach first with one out.

Then, Eric Hosmer drew a walk after going behind 0-2 in the count to extend the inning top half of the inning which proved to be vital. Andrew McCutchen came up big again for the USA, as he broke the deadlock with a shot through the left side of the infield.

The Japanese, however, were determined to make this a game of itself, and clawed their way back two innings later. Kikuchi made up for his earlier mistake by sending a bomb to right field that just got over the fence. McCutchen lept in attempt to rob the home run, but did not quite have the reach in order to haul it into his glove.

Small ball led the way for the second American run of the night. Brandon Crawford got the bottom of the eighth going with single to Norichika Aoki. Ian Kinsler then slapped a double into the gap to put two runners in scoring position. With the infield drawn in, Adam Jones hit a weak ground ball third base, and with Nobuhiro Matsuda bobbling the ball slightly, his only play was to first, allowing Crawford to scamper home for the winning run.

The Americans will have a rematch with the vaunted Puerto Rico side for the WBC title. Proceedings are scheduled to start at 9:00 PM EST on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. The game will be aired on the MLB Network.

The two pitchers pitching in the final have already faced each other earlier in the second round. Marcus Stroman will get his redemption, along with the USA, as he goes up against the New York Mets’ Seth Lugo.
The United States defeats Japan 2–1 at Dodger Stadium to advance to the 2017 World Baseball Classic's final. This is the first time that the U.S. has done so in the tournament's 11-year history.