HOUSTON -- Team Italy’s roster is filled primarily with players who were eligible for Team USA but weren’t selected over the superstar names.
Puerto Rico’s would-be roster was adversely affected by the unfortunate insurance and injury issues that prevented some of the island’s biggest products from participating.
And yet here these two teams are, facing each other in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic on Saturday afternoon at Daikin Park.
2026 World Baseball Classic
Quarterfinals presented by Capital One
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It’s quite an achievement already for two clubs representing something much bigger than themselves. On the baseball-mad island of Puerto Rico, which has struggled to come all the way back from the hurricanes that ravaged it in 2017, these wins mean so much. And out in Italy, where baseball is still budding in so many ways, the achievements in this Classic tourney have been celebrated in parliament and all over The Boot.
Alas, only one of these feel-good squads can continue on to the semifinals in Miami.
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup:
When and where: Saturday, 3 p.m. ET, Daikin Park
How you can watch: The game will air on FS1.
How you can listen: There will also be an English-language audio stream available for every game on Sirius XM, and free on MLB.com.
Team results: Italy went a perfect 4-0 to win its pool outright for the first time in the Classic, while Puerto Rico went 3-1 to reach the quarterfinals for the sixth time in as many tries.
Team Italy, having beaten Brazil, Great Britain, the U.S. and Mexico, has showcased impressive power in this tournament. The team’s 12 home runs to date are just two shy of the single-tournament record held by Mexico (2009). That’s a lot of celebratory espressos in the dugout, and Vinnie Pasquantino’s record-setting three-homer performance in the pool play finale over Mexico provided the biggest blasts yet.
Despite a 3-2 setback against Canada on Tuesday, Puerto Rico was able to advance yet again by defeating Colombia, Panama and Cuba in pool play it hosted in San Juan. Puerto Rico’s offense has been the polar opposite of that of Italy, with Darell Hernaiz belting the club’s only home run. It’s the pitching that’s led the way, with the staff producing a WBC-best 1.22 ERA in 37 innings.
Probable starting pitchers: Seth Lugo (Puerto Rico) vs. TBD (Italy)
What’s at stake: The winner of this game will move on to Miami’s loanDepot park, where it will face the winner of Japan vs. Venezuela on Saturday night at 9 ET on FOX.
Puerto Rico has reached the semis twice before, in 2013 and 2017. Both times, it went on to the finals, ultimately losing the final game. Italy has never been to the semis in this tournament.
Matchup history: The lone previous Classic meetings between these two teams both came in pool play in 2013 and 2017, with Puerto Rico victorious each time.