The Canadian national team advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time in its 20-year history.
One night after beating Puerto Rico, Canada beat Cuba 7-2 in the final billiards match between the two teams on March 11 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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Canada finished 3-1 in Group A alongside Puerto Rico, but earned the group’s top seed thanks to the WBC tiebreaker format. Canada will face the Pool B runners-up on March 14 at Daikin Park in Houston. Puerto Rico is scheduled to play the winner of Pool B on March 13.
As Canada’s only Major League Baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays didn’t miss a moment without congratulating their fan base’s favorite WBC team.
“OHHH CANADA,” the Jays wrote on their official X account. “Congratulations to @BaseballCanada on advancing to the quarters for the first time in #WorldBaseballClassic HISTORY”
Under WBC rules, ties in the standings are determined based on the minimum number of runs allowed divided by the number of fielding outs recorded in games between teams tied in that round.
To that end, holding Cuba to two points on March 11 made all the difference in Canada’s bid to win Group A.
Cuba lost the gold medal to Japan 10-6 in the first WBC in 2006. However, they have not reached a final since and are now heading home after the fastest WBC exit in history.
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