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Australia pulled off the first major upset of the 2023 World Baseball Classic on Wednesday night.
The Australians beat South Korea 8-7 inside the Tokyo Dome to open Pool B play.
South Korea were seen as one of the two favourites, along with Japan, to advance from Group B and into the quarter-finals.
Australia’s win shook up those plans and will force South Korea to play near-perfect baseball next week to get out of pool play.
In Pool A, the Netherlands are in excellent form to be one of the two teams heading into the last eight.
Xander Bogaerts and Jurickson Profar each scored on their own to give the Dutch their second win of the competition.
Panama, who scored 12 runs in their opener, had their bats silenced by a Dutch pitching staff that conceded three runs to their two biggest Pool A rivals.
Pool B
Australia 8, South Korea 7
Australia scored the WBC’s first ever upset in a chaotic back-and-forth contest inside the Tokyo Dome that ended in a steal.
FOX Sports: MLB @MLBONFOX
What an end to a WILD game 🤯
Australia stun Korea to open Pool B 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/s5cOzEb7Pt
John Morosi @jonmorosi
FINAL: Australia 8, Korea 7.
Historic win for Australia to start Pool B.
Australia have a navigable path to the second round.
The @WBCBaseball of 2023 begins with exciting, unpredictable.@MLBNetwork @MLB
South Korea were widely expected to win the competition, as they and Japan were widely tipped to qualify from Pool B.
The Korean pitching staff could not slow down the Australian batsmen in the last three innings.
Robbie Glendinning put the Aussies ahead with a three-run home run in the seventh, and Robbie Perkins followed with a three-run shot of his own in the eighth.
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ANOTHER GAME CHANGING TABLE REVERSE HOME RUN 😱🇦🇺
📺: FS1 and the FOX Sports app pic.twitter.com/tZeZLNcxiR
FOX Sports: MLB @MLBONFOX
THAT’S GONE 👋 Australia with a 3 run homer in the 8th!
📺: FS1 and the FOX Sports app pic.twitter.com/ Ije1KjDCOR
Perkins’ three-run shot proved to be the difference-maker on the scoreboard. He also threw out Tommy Edman for the final out in the ninth inning.
Jack Murphy @JackMurphy219
Robbie Perkins what a throw. Are you kidding me? @CanberraCavalry
South Korea had their chances to take back control of the match. He produced three runs in the bottom of the eighth to pull within one run. Australia’s Sam Holland got out of the jam with a strikeout.
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STRIKE THREE AND THE SHORE DOWN.
Australia come out of the bases loaded jam in the 8th!
📺: FS1 and the FOX Sports app pic.twitter.com/45OZFjJmgz
South Korea tried to rally in the ninth, but Edman’s attempt to get into scoring position was denied and they left the field with a surprise loss in Pool B, which also features Japan, China and the Czech Republic.
China and the Czech Republic are two of the weakest teams in the tournament, so South Korea must beat them to be in a good position to advance.
Wednesday’s loss puts all the pressure on South Korea to play against Japan on Friday.
Shohei Ohtani’s Japan team kicks off the WBC on Thursday against China inside the Tokyo Dome.
Pool A
Panama 12, Chinese Taipei 5
Panama’s bats erupted for 12 runs in the WBC opener to win on the board in Pool A.
Panama opened the game with a five-run fourth inning that was led by Jahdiel Santamaria’s two-run double.
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Jahdiel Santamaria leads them off with a 2-run double! Panama leads 4-0 🇵🇦
📺: FS2 and the FOX Sports app pic.twitter.com/EBAdxl32qT
Jonathan Arauz led Panama with three RBIs. He gave away runs on two separate occasions for the Central American side.
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Jonathan Arauz strikes out 2 more for Panama and it’s now 8-1 in the 6th! 🇵🇦
📺: FS2 and the FOX Sports app pic.twitter.com/IToF8vFvxZ
The infielder in the New York Mets system was one of five Panama players to record multiple hits along the way.
The 12-run breakout should put Panama in tiebreaker situations if Pool A is reduced to runs scored or runs allowed. Panama earned a lead in the attacking categories over Italy, Cuba and the Netherlands.
Panama could not sustain their attacking momentum against the Dutch in their second game on Wednesday in Taichung, Taiwan.
Netherlands 3. Panama 1
Xander Bogaerts’ third-inning home run to left field started the scoring for the Netherlands in Wednesday’s second Pool A contest.
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XANDER GOES YARD 💪
📺: FS2 and the FOX Sports app pic.twitter.com/LNOSjtKq8V
Bogaerts’ new San Diego Padres teammate Jurickson Profar doubled the lead with a solo shot of his own in the fifth.
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So far good for the Netherlands 💪
📺: FS2 and the FOX Sports app pic.twitter.com/U9pHeLvXZn
Bogaerts also scored on a wild pitch in the eighth inning. Panama’s only run came on an RBI single by Erasmo Caballero.
The Netherlands’ second win of the tournament put them in a fantastic position to qualify from Group A.
Bogaerts and Profar admitted after the win that Holland’s team feels like a family unit, per MLB.com’s Matt Monagan.
Matt Monaghan @Matt Monaghan
Xander Bogaerts and Jurickson Profar, Netherlands stars today, say the Dutch team is like a family – like a band of brothers. You can see it in how they play. Oh, and there are three sets of siblings on the team. pic.twitter.com/fbuSQjlELy
The Netherlands should be seen as the frontrunners to get out of Pool A after wins over Panama and Cuba, who were seen as the other two tough teams in the five-team group.
Panama are in good shape with a 1-1 record, but probably need to beat Cuba to feel more comfortable about their passage to the next round.
Cuba and Panama will play each other on Thursday night, 17 hours after Cuba faces Italy in one of Thursday’s morning contests. Italy is the only team in Pool A that has yet to play a World Baseball Classic game.
Italy’s roster includes Nicky Lopez and Vinnie Pasquantino of the Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Angels infielder David Fletcher.