World Baseball Classic Day 8: USA, Canada theme is “Just win, baby!”

Entering the final day of play in Group C of the World Baseball Classic, the theme for Team USA and all three other teams that take the field Wednesday comes straight out of Al Davis: Just win, baby.

The U.S. will play Colombia in the group’s concluding game Wednesday night in Phoenix right after Mexico and Canada square off on the same field.

If the U.S. team beats Colombia, they and the winner of the Mexico-Canada game will advance to the tournament’s knockout stage. It’s that simple.

But if Colombia beats the U.S., chaos ensues. In that scenario, the Mexico-Canada winner still advances as Group champion with a 3-1 record. But the U.S., Colombia and the Canada-Mexico loser all would be tied for the second spot at 2-2, leaving all three teams’ fates in the hands of that most heartless of arbiters, the mathematician.

Depending on those final two Wednesday games, who the formula favors hinges on who wins between Canada and Mexico. If Mexico advances automatically, then the U.S. is in a good position. Pending Wednesday’s results, here’s how the math works out to resolve a U.S.-Canada-Colombia tie:

Team USA:          .56

Colombia:            .59

Canada:                .87

However, if Canada beats Mexico to win the Group championship, the math looks less friendly for the U.S.

Mexico:                .39

Team USA:          .56

Colombia:            .59

The way for Team USA to ensure its advancement is to take out both Colombia and the mathematicians Wednesday. If that happens, it and the winner of Canada-Mexico automatically advance at 3-1. If Canada wins, the U.S. would move on as the group’s top seed thanks to its earlier win over Canada. If Mexico beats Canada, it is No. 1 in the group and the U.S. is No. 2 thanks to Mexico’s victory over the U.S.

As Al Davis said, just win, baby.

World Baseball Classic: Mexico 2, Great Britain 1

The Mexican team positioned itself to advance Tuesday night by hanging on against Britain, which will finish last in its bracket but first in pluckiness.

As they did in upsetting Colombia one night earlier, the Brits show full-bore gameness against their favored opponents in Phoenix. What they could not do was ensue a win by scoring more than once against Taijuan Walker and a succession of five Mexico relievers.

Walker started and held Britain to one hit over four innings. The only Great Britain run scored in the sixth when Chadwick Young doubled and scored on B.J. Murray’s two-out single.

The fatal flaw in Great Britain’s plan turned out to be the five runners left on base, two of them in scoring position.

Mexico got on the board in the second thanks to Alexis Wilson’s infield single, and broke the 1-1 tie in the seventh when Wilson singled again, scoring Alan Trejo, who had singled and advanced on a wild pitch.

Jesus Cruz and Cardinal ace Giovanny Gallegos retired the final six British hitters to turn that one-run advantage into a win.

World Baseball Classic: Canada 5, Colombia 0

One day after giving up a dozen runs in two innings, Canada shut out Colombia to move into a first place tie with Team USA in Group A.

Starter Noah Skirrow, a Phillies farmhand, held Colombia to just two hits in five innings of work in Phoenix. Three relievers completed the shutout win.

Meanwhile, the Team Canada offense did just enough. Canada broke through in the fourth when Tyler O’Neill singled and scored on Bo Naylor’s base hit.

In the eighth, Otto Lopez tripled and scored on Owen Caissie’s base hit to left for a 2-0 advantage. Not until Lopez homered with two on in the top of the ninth did the Canada pitchers truly have breathing space.

For Colombia, this wasn’t a case of wasted opportunities but rather of absence of opportunities. Thanks to a caught stealing and two double plays, Skirrow faced only one batter over the minimum through his five innings of work.

Colombia stranded only one baserunner the rest of the game.

Canada hung on despite losing first baseman Freddie Freeman to a third-inning leg problem. It was not clear whether Freeman was truly injured or whether he was removed merely out of concern for temporary hamstring tightness.

Canada will conclude Group C play Wednesday against Mexico, the winner being assured of advancement to the quarterfinal stage.

World Baseball Classic: Venezuela 4, Nicaragua 1

In Miami, Venezuela ran its Group D record to 3-0. When the Dominican Republic defeated Israel Tuesday evening, it guaranteed Venezuela a quarterfinal spot, since the worst they can finish is 3-1, tying the winner of Wednesday’s game between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

Having defeated both those teams, Venezuela would emerge from Group D with the top seed by virtue of the tie-breaker.

Of course if Venezuela beats Israel Wednesday, all of that will be academic since it will give Venezuela a perfect 4-0 record and clear claim to the group championship.

Nicaragua took a quick lead in the second thanks to three base hits and an infield ground out. However, in the fourth, a pair of walks set up Guardians infielder Andres Gimenez, who singled Ronald Acuña home. The next hitter, Eugenio Suarez, also singled, scoring Anthony Santander and Gimenez and giving Venezuela a 3-1 advantage.

Santander’s fifth inning double brought home Venezuela’s fourth and final run.

It may not have been an offensive explosion; indeed Nicaragua out-hit Venezuela 11-7. But those four runs were all six Venezuela pitchers needed. They stranded eight Nicaragua baserunners thanks in large part to a dozen strikeouts.

Nicaragua completes group play with a record of 0-4, having been outscored 22-4 and having failed to post more than a single run in any of its games.

World Baseball Classic: Cuba 4, Australia 3

In the tournament’s first quarterfinal game, Group A  champion Cuba sent Australia packing for home with a 4-3 win.

The victory advances Cuba to the tournament semifinals next week in Miami, where Cuba will play the winner of a game Thursday between Japan and Italy.

It also continues a tournament comeback that saw the Cuban team left for dead following losses in its first two Group A games in Taiwan to Netherlands and Italy. Cuba won its final two games, then survived a five-way tiebreaker by having the best ratio of runs allowed to innings pitched.

Wednesday night in Tokyo, the victors used a three-run fifth inning that broke a 1-1 tie and provided just enough margin to hold off the Aussies. A single, a walk and a hit batter loaded the bases for DH Alfredo Despaigne, who got one run home on a sacrifice fly. Erisbel Arruebarrena followed with a line single into left that provided what proved to be the winning margin.

Trailing 4-1, Australia made a game of it in the sixth when Rixon Wingrove homered with Aaron Whitfield aboard. A hit batter and catcher’s interference gave Australia a pair of two-out runners, but Alex Hall flied out to end the threat.

Over the final three innings, Cuban pitchers held Australia hitless on two bases on balls.