Japan will face the winner of the quarterfinals of the WBC=World Baseball Classic in the quarterfinals between Mexico and Puerto Rico on 17 and 18 June Japan in the United States.
The semi-finals of the Japan are scheduled to start at 20 a.m. on the 21st of this month, Japan hours on the 8th.
【Mexico】Defeated USA in 1st Round
Mexico is making their fifth consecutive appearance in the WBC, and this year, they finished in first place in Group C with a 5-1 record against the United States, who are aiming to win back-to-back titles, in the first round.
Many of the national team members play in the big leagues, and Coach Gil, who leads the team, is the infield coach of the Angels, the big league to which Shohei Ohtani belongs.
Sandoval, the Angels' starting left-hander, is also a member of the national team, and is known as a close teammate, having always served as Ohtani's catch opponent in this year's camp.
The centerpiece of the pitching staff will be pitcher Julio Urias, who won the title of best ERA with 17 wins with the Dodgers last season, who will start the quarterfinals.
In addition, there are two pitchers who won double-digit wins in the big leagues last season, Archy Day and Walker, and Sandoval is also a talented pitcher who gave up one run in three innings against the United States.
The batting lineup is Meneses of the Nationals, who hit two home runs against the United States.
The Rays' Arosalena, who batted 1% and had nine RBIs in the first round, was hit, and the key will be not to put runners in front of the two players who are doing well.
【Puerto Rico】2nd consecutive tournament runner-up
On the other hand, Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, has participated in the WBC for the fifth consecutive time, and has been runner-up in both of the last two tournaments.
In the semi-finals of the 5 tournament, they beat Japan to reach the final.
In this tournament, they beat the Dominican Republic, who were one of the favourites to win the championship in the final game of the first round, and passed Group D in second place with 2 wins and 2013 loss.
They played from the first round at the ballpark in Miami, Florida, where the semifinals and subsequent games will be held, and due to the geographical proximity, many fans packed the stadium and supported the team with enthusiastic cheers.
The team has seven players who have been selected for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and the core of the batting line is the duo of Lindor with 7 home runs and Baez with 184 home runs.
Also in the club is Soto, who has won the home run king twice in professional baseball DeNA.
In the pitching staff, the starting pitcher Strowman, who won the MVP = Most Valuable Player award for the United States National Team in the previous tournament, is participating for the Puerto Rico National Team in this tournament.
The Mets' relievers also have a strong lineup led by Mets pitcher Edwin Diaz, who made 32 saves last season.
However, Diaz withdrew with a serious right knee injury after the final game of the first round, so the question will be who will be responsible for closing out the game.
Semi-finals Japan time, 21st 8:00
The semi-finals of the Japan are scheduled to start at 21 a.m. on the 8st of this month, Japan hours.