Canada and the United States will face off on Friday in the World Baseball Classic.

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Canada and the United States will face off on Friday in the World Baseball Classic.
Credit: Sportsnet

Mark DeRosa can breathe easy. The Americans didn't control their own destiny last night. They had to hope that the stars would align in order to finish among the top two teams in Group B.

And that's what happened. Italy crushed Mexico 9-1, which means the United States finished second in Group B. They are therefore through to the quarterfinals.

They will face the winner of Group A… Canada.

Will Canada manage to get revenge for what happened at the Olympics in men's and women's hockey? We doubt it. But the momentum belongs to the Canadians, despite everything.

Michael Soroka is expected to take the mound on Friday at 8 p.m. in Houston.

In the other quarterfinal matchups, it should be noted that at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, the Koreans will face off against the Dominicans. The game will take place in Miami (which is also the venue for the semifinals and final, by the way), at Marlins Park.

Yesterday's victory over Venezuela means that the Dominican Republic will avoid Japan. Ranger Suarez and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are set to face off on Saturday at 9 p.m. in Florida.

Finally, in Houston, Puerto Rico and Italy will face off on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.

As can be seen in the table, the United States and Japan will not be able to face each other until the final game. They are on opposite sides of the table.

If the United States and the Dominican Republic advance, they will face off on Sunday night in the semifinals. The semifinal involving Japan will take place on Monday night, the day before the final.

There are only seven games left. Enjoy!

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