MIAMI — After Saturday’s riveting back-and-forth quarterfinal showdown between the United States and Venezuela, the United States advanced to face Cuba on Sunday night in the World Baseball Classic semifinals (7 ET on FS1).
Right-hander Adam Wainwright of Team USA will take the mound against left-hander Roenis Elías of Team Cuba. Pitching depth will be a factor in this game: Wainwright hasn’t pitched since the Americans’ WBC opener, but Team USA called on six relievers on Saturday; Cuba has not played since ousting Australia on Wednesday.
“He’s been in every big game you know,” USA manager Mark DeRosa said of Wainwright. “We can cover (innings). … We have some starters that can go. We’ll check with some guys with the potential to maybe go back-to-back days. We’ll see tomorrow where it stands.”
A win for Team USA would bring it one step closer to defending its WBC title. Meanwhile, Sunday’s game is the furthest Cuba has advanced in the World Baseball Classic since finishing second in 2006.
Here are the keys to Sunday’s matchup:
When and where: Sunday at 19 ET at loanDepot park in Miami.
Here’s how you can see: The match between Cuba and Team USA will be live on FS1. Every game can be streamed online in the FOX Sports App. For international viewing options, click here.
How to listen: Live audio coverage of all games will be carried on Sirius XM, TuneIn, MLB.com and on the MLB app.
What is at stake: The winner advances to the championship round Tuesday night (7 ET on FS1). That team will face the winner of the Mexico-Japan semifinal, which will be played on Monday at 19 on FS1.
Matchup history: This will be the first matchup between Team USA and Cuba.
Yoan Moncada3B, Cuba: Moncada enters semifinal action hitting .421/.522/.737 with a 1.259 OPS in the Classic. He hit one of his three WBC doubles in Cuba’s quarterfinal win.
Trea TurnerSS, USA: Turner has the hot bat in the WBC after hitting a game-winning grand slam in the quarterfinals. Less than 24 hours later, he will take the field, where he undoubtedly hustled 407 feet out to left field.