Czechia in must-win territory as Australia eyes advancement (10 p.m. ET, FS1)

Australia is riding high after a 3-0 victory against Chinese Taipei -- home runs from Robbie Perkins and 2024 No. 1 overall Draft pick Travis Bazzana were responsible for all the scoring -- has put them in excellent position to advance to Miami. It would be the second consecutive tournament to see Australia advance from the first round after failing to do so in the 2006, ‘09 and ‘17 tournaments.

It’ll face Czechia, which suffered a heavy 11-4 loss to Korea, and have just about 14 hours of rest between the final out in their contest on Thursday and the first pitch against Australia. It’s tough timing for the Czechs, who likely view Australia -- the No. 11 ranked team in the world -- as their best hope for victory. For comparison, Japan is ranked first, Chinese Taipei second and Korea fourth. The Czechs are ranked 15th.

Here’s what you need to know about the matchup:

When and where: Thursday, 10 p.m. ET at the Tokyo Dome (Friday, noon local time)

How you can watch: The game is available on FS1 in the United States and Netflix in Japan.

Click here to view viewing options in other countries and territories.

How you can listen: There is a free English-language audio stream available for every game.

Team results: Australia is tied with Korea atop the Pool C standings, as Japan is set to play its first game Friday. Czechia is last with Chinese Taipei at 0-1.

Probable starting pitchers: Josh Hendrickson vs. Tomáš Ondra

A 38th-round selection by the Phillies in the 2019 Draft -- a round that doesn’t exist anymore -- Hendrickson made three appearances in Triple-A before the Phillies released him at the end of the 2023 season. He had hoped to play for Australia at the previous Classic -- even going so far as to buy special green-and-gold Australian cleats and glove -- but a stint on the 60-day injured list during the season kept him from being able to join the team.

Hendrickson will now get to put that gear to good use after going 10-5 with a 3.61 ERA for Kansas City of the American Association, an MLB partner league, last season.

The Czechs counter with Ondra, a command-and-control specialist who throws a sneaky sinking fastball and keeps runners off base. He broke into the national team in 2023 after a remarkable Extraliga season, striking out 104 batters and walking just seven in 94 innings for Hroši Brno. Since then, he’s appeared in two European Baseball Championships for Czechia, helping the team win its first medal this past fall. In 21 1/3 innings, he’s posted a 0.81 ERA with 21 K's and just two walks in that time.

What’s at stake: A victory against Czechia would give the Aussies an excellent chance at advancing, making the contest against Korea on Monday a likely win-and-advance ballgame.

While the Czechs were underdogs against Korea and the offense was productive, the team surrendered four home runs in Thursday's loss. They’ll need to find a way to keep the ball in the park against Australia, which may be the team’s best hopes to avoid being in the Qualifier before the next WBC.

Matchup history: Australia defeated Czechia, 8-3, in the 2023 Classic. The game was actually much closer than the score line indicates though. The teams were knotted at 1 through six innings before Australia pulled away late. Alex Hall was the star of that contest, going 2-for-5 with a home run, a triple and four RBIs.