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. 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. 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. 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. Puerto Rico, who lost the title game in 2013 to the Dominican Republic, is seeking vengeance, desperately hoping to capture its first championship. The United States will send Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman to the mound, and Puerto Rico will start Mets right-hander Seth Lugo. He’s struck out three while walking one, good for a 0.25 WHIP and 0.00 ERA. “I think,” Netherlands manager Hensley Meulens said, “they’re the strongest team we’ve faced in the tournament.”

So, the first inning Monday night.
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.