Pool E of the Second Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, a quarter-final round in the tournament, was held at Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan, from March 12 to 15, 2017.
The round was between Team Israel (won Pool A; ranked 41st in the world), Team Japan (won Pool B; ranked 1st in the world), Team Cuba (second in Pool B; ranked 5th in the world), and the Netherlands (second in Pool A; ranked 9th in the world). Pool E was a round-robin tournament. Each team played the other three teams once, with the top two teams advancing to the semifinals.
Undefeated Japan (3−0) and the Netherlands (2−1) advanced to the semi-final round, as Israel (1−2) came in third in the pool, and Cuba (0−3) came in fourth.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | RD | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Japan (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 14 | +10 | 1.000 | — | Advance to championship round |
| 2 |  Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 1 | 32 | 11 | +21 | .667 | 1 | |
| 3 |  Israel | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 21 | −12 | .333 | 2 | |
| 4 |  Cuba | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 26 | −19 | .000 | 3 |
Pool E MVP: Wladimir Balentien [1]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuba | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Israel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | X | 4 | 5 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Zack Thornton (1−0) LP: Yoanni Yera (0−2) Sv: Josh Zeid (2) Home runs: CUB: Alfredo Despaigne (1) ISR: None Attendance: 43,153 (102.7%) Umpires: HP − Todd Tichenor, 1B − Cory Blaser, 2B − Trevor Grieve, 3B − Jens Waider Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the first game of the second round, Team Israel, undefeated in the first round, beat Team Cuba (5th-ranked in the world) by a score of 4−1. [2] Former Major Leaguer Jason Marquis (in 5.2 innings on three days' rest) and three Team Israel relief pitchers (including Brad Goldberg and Josh Zeid, who both threw 96 mph fastballs) kept Team Cuba to five hits and one run, a homer by Cuban star Alfredo Despaigne who became the all-time World Baseball Classic home run leader. [3] [4] [5] Pool A MVP catcher Ryan Lavarnway had two hits for Israel. [3]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Netherlands | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Kazuhisa Makita (1−0) LP: Tom Stuifbergen (0−1) Home runs: JPN: Sho Nakata (1) NED: Jonathan Schoop (1), Wladimir Balentien (1) Attendance: 44,326 (105.5%) Umpires: HP − Félix Tejada, 1B − Larry Vanover, 2B − Cory Blaser, 3B − Trevor Grieve Notes: Extra inning rule was used in 11th inning. Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japan, undefeated in the first round, beat the Netherlands 8−6 in 11 innings. [6] The game lasted nearly five hours, and ended at 11:56 p.m. in Japan. [7] The stadium scoreboard reminded fans younger than 18 to leave the stadium before midnight to comply with a juvenile safety law, and many fans left. [7]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | 12 | 15 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Israel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 2 | 8 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Jair Jurrjens (1−0) LP: Corey Baker (1−1) Home runs: NED: Didi Gregorius (1) ISR: Nate Freiman (1) Attendance: 5,017 (11.9%) Umpires: HP − Cory Blaser, 1B − Félix Tejada, 2B − Todd Tichenor, 3B − Jens Waider Notes: Completed early due to 10–run mercy rule after 8 innings. Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In a rematch of the Pool A game in which Israel prevailed, the Netherlands defeated Israel 12–2 on March 13, giving Israel their first loss of the tournament. [8] The game ended after eight innings with the application of the 10-run mercy rule. [9]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuba | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Japan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | X | 8 | 9 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Ryo Akiyoshi (1−0) LP: Miguel Lahera (0−1) Sv: Kazuhisa Makita (2) Home runs: CUB: Yurisbel Gracial (1) JPN: Tetsuto Yamada 2 (2) Attendance: 32,717 (77.9%) Umpires: HP − Larry Vanover, 1B − Trevor Grieve, 2B − Jens Waider, 3B − Todd Tichenor Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japan beat Cuba 8−5, backed by two home runs from designated hitter Tetsuto Yamada. [10]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | X | X | 14 | 13 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Cuba | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | X | 1 | 5 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Diego Markwell (1−0) LP: Lázaro Blanco (0−1) Home runs: NED: Wladimir Balentien 2 (3), Yurendell DeCaster (1), Kalian Sams (1) CUB: None Attendance: 40,680 (96.9%) Umpires: HP − Todd Tichenor, 1B − Trevor Grieve, 2B − Félix Tejada, 3B − Larry Vanover Notes: Completed early due to 10–run mercy rule after 7 innings. Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Netherlands defeated Cuba 14−1, eliminating Cuba from contention to advance to the semi-final round, in a game ended after seven innings under the World Baseball Classic's mercy rule. [11]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Israel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Japan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | X | 8 | 13 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Yoshihisa Hirano (1−0) LP: Dylan Axelrod (0−1) Home runs: ISR: None JPN: Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh (1) Attendance: 43,179 (102.8%) Umpires: HP − Cory Blaser, 1B − Larry Vanover, 2B − Trevor Grieve, 3B − Félix Tejada Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Undefeated two-time WBC champion Team Japan beat Team Israel, 8−3. [12] [13]
The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB). It was proposed to the IBAF by Major League Baseball (MLB), the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world. It is one of the two main senior baseball tournaments sanctioned by the WBSC, but the only one which grants to the winner the title of "World Champion".
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