Paul Skenes’ outstanding performance made the difference for the Americans.

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Paul Skenes’ outstanding performance made the difference for the Americans.
Credit: Fox News

Last night, we were watching two games in particular at the World Baseball Classic.

First, the matchup between Cuba and Puerto Rico was important because Canada must beat the loser of that game to advance to the quarterfinals of the Classic.

And finally, the favorites in Group A, Puerto Rico, defeated Cuba. Puerto Rico advances to the quarterfinals, but is not guaranteed to finish first in the group.

If Canada wins tonight (7 p.m.) against Puerto Rico, it will give itself a chance at first place in the group. But the most important thing will still be to beat Cuba on Wednesday at 3 p.m. Only a victory against the Cubans will allow the Canadians to advance to the next stage.

But otherwise, the duel between the United States and Mexico was definitely one to watch. The Americans hadn't beaten the Mexicans in the World Baseball Classic in 20 years.

And of course, Paul Skenes had something to say in his team's game. In his first World Baseball Classic game ever, he maximized his 65 pitches and kept the Mexican bats silent for four big innings of work.

The pitcher was helped by his offense (Aaron Judge and Roman Anthony hit home runs in a five-run inning) and his defense (Bobby Witt Jr. and Aaron Judge stood out in particular) to lead his team to a 5-3 win.

Seriously, Witt Jr. was incredible at shortstop.

Jarren Duran's runs weren't enough for the Mexicans, who still pushed the US players to their limits. The game wasn't easy to win – and it's no surprise that the Mexican manager wants a rematch in the final.

The group stage matches will end tomorrow. And on Friday, it will be time for the quarterfinals.

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