SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Canada, in five previous World Baseball Classic tournaments, has never made it to the quarterfinal round. After a 3-2 win over the previously undefeated Puerto Rico (3-1) on Tuesday night, they’re a step closer to doing just that.
The two scenarios are pretty simple for Canada. With a win against Cuba on Wednesday (3 p.m. ET on FS2), Canada would advance to the quarterfinals with a 3-1 record. They’d also grab the top spot in Pool A, as they’d end pool play with the same record as Puerto Rico but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. If Canada loses, their time in the 2026 WBC will come to an end, as they’d finish with a 2-2 record behind Puerto Rico and Cuba.
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“That's the beauty of this sport. You play to get to this position,” manager Ernie Whitt said. “We knew coming into tonight's game, if we had a chance to win, we wanted to win. We know that this win was nice, but it doesn't mean anything unless we win tomorrow.”
Puerto Rico got out to a quick 1-0 lead on Tuesday on a Nolan Arenado RBI single in the first. After going hitless for three games, Arenado broke out with three singles, making the first one count.
But in the third inning, Puerto Rico starter José De León ran into some trouble with two outs.
Denzel Clarke and Edouard Julien singled and De León hit Josh Naylor with a pitch to load the bases.
Yadier Molina elected to bring Rico Garcia into the game, and the Orioles reliever proceeded to walk in two runs to give Canada a 2-1 lead.
Canada kept its offense humming in the next frame when Owen Caissie – who’s hitting .545 for the tournament – led off with a double. Abraham Toro singled him home to make it 3-1.
Puerto Rico would close the gap to 3-2 on a Martín Maldonado RBI groundout in the bottom of the fourth, but that’s as close as they got, stranding Eddie Rosario at third.
Canada’s pitching took care of the rest, following the lead of right-hander Jordan Balazovic, who set the tone with three innings of one-run ball. He passed the baton to left-hander Logan Allen, who matched Balazovic’s line with three innings of one-run ball himself. Brock Dykxhoorn finished it off with three dominant scoreless innings.
“The heart was definitely racing,” said the 6-foot-8 Dykxhoorn, who is nicknamed The Big Doctor. “I appreciate the chance. I would do anything to be here. I told the coaching staff that as a late addition. To be put in a spot like that, to come through, I'm happy for the team.”
Regardless of how things unfold on Wednesday, Canada has proven that they’re a legitimate contender in this tournament. But they have a chance against Cuba to do something they’ve never done in their World Baseball Classic history, and they’re more than ready for the challenge.
“We’re expecting a good ballgame,” Tyler O’Neill said. “We know they're going to come out firing, but so are we. We're looking forward to Game 4 in this tournament. Hopefully we go a lot further than that.”