Canada is off to the World Baseball Classic quarter-final for the first time ever, and a powerhouse USA squad is awaiting them.
The Canadians knocked off Cuba and finished atop the Group A standings on Wednesday afternoon. It was a historic win for Canada, but things are about to get a lot harder for them in the knockout stage, as they face the United States Friday night at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas.
Sportsnet is the place to watch the Canada-USA matchup, with the game slated to get underway on Friday at 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT. The game will also air on Fox in the United States.
World Baseball Classic
Though Canada technically enters the quarter-final as the higher seed, with the USA finishing as the runner-up in Group B, Canada will be considered heavy underdogs. The Americans have a star-studded lineup completely made up of high-tier MLB players, and have historically been top contenders since the tournament’s inception.
Still, you can never say never in baseball, and who doesn’t love a good Canada vs. USA matchup in international sports?
The Americans will be relying on their all-star lineup that includes sluggers like Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber, as well as Toronto Blue Jays fan favourite Ernie Clement. The Canadians, on the other hand, will need all they can get out of guys like Josh Naylor and Tyler O’Neill, as well as their entire pitching staff.
Canada went 3-1 in pool play, but has not faced an opponent like the USA quite yet. Historically, the Americans have dominated Canada at the World Baseball Classic, winning four of the five games between the two nations. The only Canadian victory came in the form of an 8-6 win over the United States at the 2006 tournament.
Here is a full schedule of every quarter-final set to take place on Friday and Saturday:
Friday:
Dominican Republic vs. South Korea — 6:30 p.m. EDT/3:30 p.m. PDT
Canada vs. USA — 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT
Saturday:
Puerto Rico vs. Italy — 3 p.m. EDT/noon PDT
Japan vs. Venezuela — 9 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. PDT
The winner of Friday’s quarter-final will move on to the semi-final to face either Vladimir Guerrero and the Dominican Republic or South Korea. The semi-finals will also be shown on Sportsnet and are set to take place on Sunday and Monday night. The WBC final will go on Tuesday night.