PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Team Colombia will be loaded for bear on Friday night when it faces Team USA in a 6:05 ET contest at Marlins Park, as Jose Quintana has been tabbed to start.
The White Sox lefty is considered to be one of the quiet aces of the Major Leagues. Since the beginning of the 2013 season, he has made 129 starts, pitched 814 2/3 innings and has an ERA of 3.35.
Of course, Colombia manager Luis Urueta had two pretty good options in Quintana and Atlanta's Julio Teheran, who made 30 starts for the Braves in 2016 and struck out 167 in 188 innings while recording a 3.21 ERA.
:: 2017 World Baseball Classic ::
"That was a decision that we had to make between Julio and Jose," Urueta said prior to his team's exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Rays, a game it won, 9-7, after scoring six runs in the ninth. "We just had a couple of reasons to do Jose first and then Julio in the second game. We're pretty confident in the decision we made as a staff, and we hope everything goes well.
"[The decision was] an easy one; those are two quality starters. They both do great things in the Major Leagues, and I think having them throwing for us the first two games of the tournament, it's good for them and good for the country."
The World Baseball Classic runs through March 22. In the U.S., games air live exclusively in English on MLB Network and on an authenticated basis via MLBNetwork.com/watch, while ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN provide the exclusive Spanish-language coverage. MLB.TV Premium subscribers in the U.S. have access to watch every tournament game live on any of the streaming service's 400-plus supported devices. The tournament is being distributed internationally across all forms of television, internet, mobile and radio in territories excluding the U.S., Puerto Rico and Japan. Get tickets for games at Marlins Park, Tokyo Dome, Estadio Charros de Jalisco in Mexico, Petco Park, as well as the Championship Round at Dodger Stadium, while complete coverage -- including schedules, video, stats and gear -- is available at WorldBaseballClassic.com.
Rays right-hander Chris Archer will start for Team USA.
"I know he has pretty good stuff," Urueta said. "I know he didn't have his best year last year. That doesn't mean he's not a good pitcher. He has good stuff. Might struggle with command occasionally. We're going to try to get the best out of him in the first half of the game. I know that it's going to be tough to get to the bullpen. But we have our strategies and a way to be creative to score some runs."
After playing Team USA, Colombia's Pool C schedule calls for a game vs. Canada on Saturday, followed by a game against the Dominican Republic on Sunday. Only two teams advance from the bracket.
When asked about Colombia's chances, Urueta allowed that he is "pretty confident."
"We came here to compete to win," Urueta said. "Of course, we know who's the opponent. Of course we know that the U.S. and the Dominican are teams that are well known, and they want to win this tournament. Our guys are positive. They're motivated to participate and to win some ballgames."