2017 WBC MVP and all-tournament team announced

This evening World Baseball Classic, Inc. (WBCI) announced the selections of the 2017 World Baseball Classic Most Valuable Player and the 2017 All-World Baseball Classic Team. The selections were made by a panel of broadcasters and media members.

United States pitcher Marcus Stroman, who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of tonight's WBC Championship Game, has been named the Most Valuable Player of the 2017 WBC. Stroman's 15.1 innings pitched, in which he fashioned a 2.35 ERA, were a team high for WBC Champion Team USA. He joins Team Japan pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, who earned the honor in both the 2006 and 2009 events, and Dominican Republic second baseman Robinson Canó, who won for the tournament's 2013 edition.

The following players have been selected to the 2017 All-World Baseball Classic Team (^ indicates a unanimous choice):

Position
Player
Team
2017 Tournament Statistics

C
YADIER MOLINA^
Puerto Rico
.333, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 R

1B
ERIC HOSMER^
USA
.385, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 3 2B, 6 R

2B
JAVIER BÁEZ
Puerto Rico
.308, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 4 R, 4 SB

3B
CARLOS CORREA
Puerto Rico
.333, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 2 SB, 10 R*

SS
FRANCISCO LINDOR
Puerto Rico
.370, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 7 R

OF
WLADIMIR BALENTIEN^
Kingdom of the Netherlands
.615, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 1.115 SLG, 10 R*, 29 TB

OF
GREGORY POLANCO
Dominican Republic
.579, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .842 SLG

OF
CHRISTIAN YELICH
USA
.310, 3 RBI, 4 2B, 7 R

DH
CARLOS BELTRÁN
Puerto Rico
.435, 5 RBI, 1 2B, 4 R

P
KODAI SENGA
Japan
0.82 ERA, 11.0 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 16 SO*

P
MARCUS STROMAN (MVP)
USA
1-1, 2.35 ERA, 3 GS, 15.1 IP, 9 SO

P
JOSH ZEID
Israel

0.00 ERA, 2 SV, 10.0 IP, 5 H, 10 SO

The previous all-tournament teams have included:

2006: Catcher Tomoya Satozaki, Japan; first baseman Seung Yeop Lee, Korea; second baseman Yulieski Gourriel of Cuba; third baseman Adrian Beltre, Dominican Republic; shortstop Derek Jeter, USA; outfielders Ken Griffey Jr. of the USA, Jong Beom Lee of Korea and Ichiro Suzuki of Japan; designated hitter Yoandri Garlobo of Cuba; and pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka (MVP) of Japan, Yadel Marti of Cuba and Chan Ho Park of Korea.

2009: Catcher Ivan Rodriguez, Puerto Rico; first baseman Tae Kyun Kim, Korea; second baseman José Lopez, Venezuela; third baseman Bum Ho Lee, Korea; shortstop Jimmy Rollins, USA; outfielders Frederich Cepeda and Yoenis Céspedes of Cuba and Norichika Aoki of Japan; designated hitter Hyun Soo Kim of Korea; and pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka (MVP) and Hisashi Iwakuma of Japan and Jungkeun Bong of Korea.


2013: Catcher Yadier Molina, Puerto Rico; first baseman Edwin Encarnación, Dominican Republic; second baseman Robinson Canó (MVP), Dominican Republic; third baseman David Wright, USA; shortstop José Reyes, Dominican Republic; outfielders Angel Pagán of Puerto Rico, Nelson Cruz of the Dominican Republic and Michael Saunders of Canada; designated hitter Hirokazu Ibata, Japan; and pitchers Kenta Maeda of Japan, Nelson Figueroa of Puerto Rico and Fernando Rodney of the Dominican Republic.

US routs Puerto Rico 8-0 to win WBC behind dominant Stroman

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Marcus Stroman tossed six hitless innings, Ian Kinsler slugged a two-run homer and the United States routed Puerto Rico 8-0 on Wednesday night to win its first World Baseball Classic in four tries.

Stroman dominated the tournament's highest-scoring team. Puerto Rico lost for the first time in eight 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.

Stroman, who was named the tournament's MVP, avenged his shakiness in the Americans' 6-5 loss to Puerto Rico during pool play. The right-hander from the Toronto Blue Jays retired the side on three grounders to open the game. In all, he gave up one hit, struck out three and walked one on 73 pitches.

He allowed just three balls past the infield until Angel Pagan's double in the left-field corner leading off the seventh, when Stroman departed to a standing ovation, having staked the Americans to a 7-0 lead.

Stroman walked Carlos Beltran leading off the second, but the defense helped him out. Yadier Molina hit the ball to shortstop Brandon Crawford, who started a double play before 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.

In that game, Stroman gave up six consecutive singles in a four-run first inning and took the loss against Puerto Rico last Friday in San Diego.

The Americans made it 4-0 in the fifth on RBI singles by Christian 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.

Fans were on their feet chanting "U-S-A" when the Americans 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 past diving shortstop Francisco Lindor.

Burgos' wild pitch moved runners to second and third before he walked Lucroy to load the bases a second time. Kinsler flied out to end the inning.

The Americans led 8-0 in the eighth on McCutchen's RBI single with two outs.

The U.S. defeated two-time champion Japan, while Puerto Rico beat the Netherlands to reach the final.

The three games at Dodger Stadium drew 109,892.

US edges Japan 2-1, advances to WBC championship game

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Luke Gregerson's final strike breezed past Nobuhiro Matsuda, and the rain-drenched American players celebrated on the field while a soaked crowd roared through the evening mist.

A daylong downpour couldn't dampen this resilient United States club or its fans, who will finally get to root for the home team in a World Baseball Classic championship game.

Brandon Crawford scored the tiebreaking run when Matsuda bobbled Adam Jones' grounder to third in the eighth inning, and the United States reached the WBC final for the first time by beating Japan 2-1 on Tuesday night at rainy Dodger Stadium.

Andrew McCutchen drove in an early run for the U.S., which will play Puerto Rico for the title Wednesday night. Puerto Rico edged the Netherlands 4-3 in 11 innings Monday.

"It means a heck of a lot," said McCutchen, the Pittsburgh Pirates slugger. "We've got a great group of guys on this team who have dedicated this time to be able to try and win some ballgames. Sacrifices had to be made, and there are no egos when that door opens. That's what's good about this team. Everybody is a superstar on this team. There are no egos."

The World Baseball Classic final has been played in the United States in each of its four editions, but the home team had never been able to play America's pastime on what has become its biggest international stage. The U.S. only reached the semifinals once before, in 2009.

While manager Jim Leyland's current roster is missing Clayton Kershaw, Mike Trout and many other American superstars, the All-Star-laden group that decided to participate has won two straight elimination games to earn a chance for the U.S.' first crown.

"Coming into this event, I didn't really want to talk about the fact that the United States has never won it (and) they've never gone to the finals," Leyland said. "I didn't think that was a big deal. I wanted this, for the players, to be a memory. I've talked a lot about it. Make a memory. Hopefully it's a real good one, regardless of the results (Wednesday). I know it is for me. It's been an absolute honor."

To reach the final, the Americans had to persevere through an uncharacteristic Los Angeles rain that drenched the playing field several hours before game time. They also had to beat a gifted Japanese team at its own game: pitching, defense and small ball.

Ryosuke Kikuchi hit a tying homer off reliever Nate Jones in the sixth inning for Japan, but the two-time WBC champions were twice let down by their normally sturdy defense.

McCutchen opened the scoring with an RBI single in the fourth moments after Kikuchi's two-base error at second. In the eighth, Crawford likely would have been out at the plate on Jones' innocent grounder, but Matsuda didn't field it cleanly and had to throw to first.

"Well, two plays," Japan manager Hiroki Kokubo said through a translator. "Honestly, there were some mistakes, and then a run was scored. ... The team that makes mistakes will lose. That's what it means. I cannot blame them, though, for doing that."

Japan won the first two WBC tournaments before losing in the 2013 semifinals, and Kokubo's current team was unbeaten in this event.

"The players really did their very best," Kokubo said. "I really appreciate it. It's do-or-die, one semifinal."

Tanner Roark pitched four scoreless innings of two-hit ball before Leyland pulled him on the instructions of the Washington Nationals, who limited Roark to 50 pitches because he hadn't faced live hitters in nine days.

"I felt good enough to stay out there," Roark said.

Gregerson, the Americans' sixth reliever, worked a perfect ninth inning after Pat Neshek escaped a two-on jam in the eighth.

Leyland is confident he'll have a capable bullpen Wednesday after receiving texts from various pitching coaches around the majors on the status of their players. Toronto's Marcus Stroman, the starter, is free to reach the WBC's 95-pitch limit, Leyland confirmed.

Although the crowd of 33,462 strongly favored the team with five California natives in the starting lineup, thousands of Japanese fans showed up early and chanted throughout the game, accompanied by the brass band in the left-field bleachers.

Tomoyuki Sugano, the Yomiuri Giants ace with a seven-pitch repertoire, tossed six innings of three-hit ball for Japan, striking out six and yielding only one unearned run.

But Sugano was matched by Roark, who gave up just two singles and a walk in his four innings, also hitting a batter with a pitch.

After Christian Yelich reached second in the fourth inning when his hard-hit grounder was mishandled by Kikuchi, the standout defensive second baseman, Eric Hosmer worked out of an 0-2 count to draw a two-out walk.

McCutchen had just two hits in his first 14 at-bats in the WBC, but he drove in Yelich with a sharp single to left.

Kikuchi made up for his mistake in the sixth, driving Jones' fastball barely over the reach of McCutchen in right field for his first homer of the tournament.

Japan reliever Kodai Senga struck out the first four batters he faced with a 96 mph fastball and exceptional off-speed stuff, but Crawford then delivered a sharp single before Ian Kinsler doubled to deep left-center.

Neshek got cleanup hitter Yoshimoto Tsutsugoh on a fly to right to end the eighth.

Puerto Rico defeats DR 3-1

For the first time since 2009, the Dominican Republic suffered a loss in the World Baseball Classic. In a rematch of the last Classic's title game, Puerto Rico defeated the reigning champions, 3-1, on Tuesday night in the Pool F opener at Petco Park.

"The motivation was there," Puerto Rican manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "We were waiting for this for four years."

After a day of rest, the Dominican Republic resumes play Thursday against Venezuela at 10 p.m. ET. It's a must win for the Dominican team, which could fall out of contention with a second loss in Pool F.

A Friday evening matchup with Team USA looms for Puerto Rico after two days off.

DR, Puerto Rico face off in WBC 2017 Group F matchup

Tonight in San Diego, we'll see a 2017 World Baseball Classic Group F matchup between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

Both teams are 3-0 in WBC 2017. Puerto Rico has outscored three opponents, 29-7.

The Dominicans are running their winning streak going back to the 2013 tournament to 11 games. In the 2017 classic, They trailed Team USA, 5-0, before rallying to win, 7-5, on Saturday. On Sunday, they needed seven runs in the 10th inning to beat the Colombian team, 10-3.

The last time these two teams faced in the Classic was in the 2013 Championship Game at AT&T Park. The Dominicans won 3-0.

Yes in-Didi: Gregorius powers Dutch past Israel

By Danny Knobler / Special to MLB.com

TOKYO -- Four years ago, the Netherlands were the World Baseball Classic's surprise team. Now, the Dutch are an offensive powerhouse, trying to slug their way back to the semifinals.

The Netherlands moved a step closer with a 12-2 win over Israel on Monday at Tokyo Dome, handing the surprise team of WBC 2017 its first loss in the tournament in a game shortened to eight innings by the early-termination rule. Didi Gregorius of the Yankees doubled, homered and drove in five runs as the Dutch evened their second-round record at 1-1.

Israel is also 1-1, meaning the two teams that advance from Pool E can't be decided before Wednesday's doubleheader. The Netherlands and Israel don't play Tuesday, when Japan (1-0) will face Cuba (0-1) at 6 a.m. ET on MLB.TV and MLB Network.

Israel likely needs a win over Japan on Wednesday (6 a.m. ET) for a chance to advance to the semifinals. The Netherlands' final scheduled second-round game is against Cuba (Tuesday at 11 p.m. ET).

Netherlands starter Jair Jurrjens, who pitched in the Major Leagues for eight seasons with the Tigers, Braves, Orioles and Rockies, held Israel to one run in six impressive innings. Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons, Wladimir Balentien and Yurendell de Caster each had three hits for the Netherlands.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Coco, Coco: Balentien is a local star, having played the past six seasons with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and set a Japanese single-season record with 60 home runs in 2013. So Japanese fans came to Monday's game with signs showing his nickname, "Coco." They also serenaded him with "Coco, Coco Balentien" when he came to the plate. In two games at Tokyo Dome the past two days, Balentien has a home run, three singles and five RBIs.

Rough night for Baker: Israel has a strong bullpen, but the Israelis need to get to it with a chance to win. That happened Sunday when Jason Marquis went into the sixth inning against Cuba, but Cardinals right-hander Corey Baker didn't get an out in the third inning against the Netherlands.

Bunting for runs: Netherlands manager Hensley Meulens opted against having Jurickson Profar bunt when the 11th inning began with runners at first and second Sunday against Japan. Profar did bunt with first and second, none out in the third inning Monday. A big difference: Balentien had been removed for a pinch-runner Sunday. He came up behind Profar on Monday and delivered a two-run single.

Didi the DH: There's nothing wrong with the way Gregorius plays shortstop, but Simmons is one of the best defenders in the world at the position. So Gregorius has been the Netherlands' designated hitter for four of the first five games in the tournament. He was 6-for-16 (.412) in the first four games, and had a run-scoring double and a three-run home run in the first four innings against Israel.

Mexico edges Venezuela but out of Classic

By Manny Randhawa / MLB.com

In a wild game with huge implications for Pool D of the World Baseball Classic, Mexico held off Venezuela in an 11-9 victory on Sunday night at Estadio de Beisbol Charros de Jalisco.

As a result, Mexico, Venezuela and Italy all finished with records of 1-2 in pool play. Under Classic tiebreaker rules, the two teams with the fewest runs allowed per defensive inning among the teams tied during the tournament play a tiebreaker, and the other is eliminated.

Major League Baseball announced that Venezuela (1.11 runs allowed per defensive inning) and Italy (1.05 runs allowed) will play tonight at 9 p.m. ET to determine which team from Pool D joins Puerto Rico in the second round. Mexico filed a protest after the game.

The razor-thin margin that decided the tiebreaker is reflective of how three evenly matched these 1-2 teams are. And given the fact that they all lost to Puerto Rico and allowed at least a run per inning in the games against the other two, no team had an obvious case for advancement.

Mexico protested that ruling based on how those figures were calculated. The general manager of Team Mexico, Kundy Gutierrez, told reporters after the game that discussions regarding the ruling were taking place between MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre and senior vice president of baseball operations Kim Ng. The ruling was later confirmed, and Venezuela will play Italy for the Pool D tiebreaker.

Mexico finished with 1.12 runs allowed per defensive inning, edged out by the slimmest of margins by Venezuela with Sunday's head-to-head outcome. Even though Mexico gave up five runs in the ninth inning of a loss to Italy on Thursday, only eight defensive innings were counted from that game toward the calculation because an out was never recorded in the ninth.

Mexico jumped out to an early 8-1 lead, thanks in large part to a pair of three-run homers from Esteban Quiroz and Brandon Laird. But Venezuela refused to go quietly, scoring eight times between the fifth and seventh innings.

Martin Prado continued to swing a hot bat for Venezuela, driving in two runs with a single and a double. Robinson Chirinos and Victor Martinez each drove in two, with Martinez homering in the seventh.

Roberto Osuna, who was unable to close out Italy despite a four-run lead in the ninth inning of Mexico's Classic opener, got the final two outs after the tying runs reached base.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Pouncing on Petit: For the second time in four Classic at-bats, Quiroz launched a home run, this one a three-run shot with two outs in the second inning off Venezuela starter Yusmeiro Petit to give Mexico a 5-0 lead. Quiroz battled back from an 0-2 count and capped a nine-pitch at-bat with the blast over the right-field wall.

Primetime Prado: On the heels of a 5-for-5 performance in Venezuela's 11-10 victory over Italy on Saturday, Prado stroked an RBI single to right-center field against Mexico starter Luis Mendoza in the third. Prado drove in another run with a fifth-inning double.

Laird leaves the yard: Laird gave Mexico additional breathing room with a three-run homer to left off Venezuela's Wil Ledezma in the fifth inning, extending the lead to 8-1. Laird, an infielder for the Yankees and Astros from 2011-13, has spent the last two seasons playing in the Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball organization, hitting 73 homers in that span for the Nippon Ham Fighters.

Roberson to the rescue: With Mexico's advantage cut from seven runs to three by the seventh inning, pinch-hitter Chris Roberson delivered a two-run infield single. Second baseman Jose Altuve dove to his left and nearly corralled the sharp grounder, but he could only knock it down in short right field.

'V' is for Venezuela -- and V-Mart: Venezuela responded yet again in the seventh, with Martinez belting a two-run homer just inside the right-field foul pole off Venezuela reliever Sergio Romo. The blast pulled Venezuela to within three runs, at 11-8.

Osuna's redemption: Three days after he was unable to close out Italy despite a four-run lead in the ninth inning, Osuna got the final two outs against Venezuela. The right-hander yielded a single to Alcides Escobar and walked Ender Inciarte, but then struck out Chirinos and got Altuve to fly out.

QUOTABLE
"The offense had a difficult time coming from behind in all the games. We received runs early, and we have been against a wall all the time. We have done a lot in order to score some runs and come back in games, and that wasn't the mentality that we had or we thought we were going to play with. With the players we have, I thought we were going to play better ball, but it has cost us because we have been coming from behind all the time." -- Venezuela manager Omar Vizquel

WHAT'S NEXT
Venezuela: A tiebreaker with Italy on Monday at 9 p.m. ET awaits Venezuela, with the winner moving on to Round 2 of the Classic, and the loser eliminated.

Hughes leads Australia's rout of China

By Danny Knobler / Special to MLB.com

TOKYO -- Former Twins and A's infielder Luke Hughes drove in four runs as Australia coasted to an 11-0 win over China at Tokyo Dome. James Beresford's grand slam made it a double-digit lead in the eighth inning and meant the ninth inning wasn't played because of the tournament's early-termination rule.

Australia's win guaranteed Japan's path to the second round and also guaranteed the winner of the Australia-Cuba matchup (10 p.m. ET on Thursday) will join the Japanese in advancing. China, which will play Japan on Friday, can't advance.
Full Game Coverage

Tigers Minor League left-hander Travis Blackley, who pitched in the Major Leagues with five teams, scattered two hits over 4 2/3 scoreless innings.

Australia didn't advance past the first round in any of the first three editions of the World Baseball Classic, going 1-8 with only a win over Mexico in 2009. The Australians are 1-1 in WBC 2017, having lost to Japan on Wednesday.

Cuba has never failed to advance out of the first round.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Blackley delivers: Australia manager Jon Deeble has two pitchers with Major League experience, and he chose to start them against China and Cuba in hopes of getting the two wins needed to advance. He got the first win Thursday, with Travis Blackley pitching efficiently enough on just 48 pitches. The pitch count is crucial, because by keeping it under, 50 Blackley is eligible to return as soon as Sunday, which would be the first game of the second round.

Hughes hits it hard: Hughes hasn't played in the Major Leagues since the A's released him in July 2012. He's played the last five years with the Perth Heat in the Australian League, where he homered three times in 24 games in the just-completed season.

A name to remember?: China's starter was 21-year-old Kwon Ju, who grew up in Korea and plays for the KT Wiz in Korean baseball. He gave up three hits in three innings, including Hughes' two-run home run, but scouts suggest he could project as a back-end starter in the Major Leagues some day.

Triple threat: Deeble made a lineup change Thursday, inserting 31-year-old Trent D'Antonio in the leadoff spot. D'Antonio, who played three seasons in the Marlins' organization without making it past Class A, made the move look good with a two-run triple in the fourth inning. D'Antonio was helped by China center fielder Zhenghong Lu, who tried to dive for the ball and saw it get by him.