World Baseball Classic 2026 Scores, Reaction from Saturday Pool Play Results Ahead of KO Bracket
Two walk-off home runs took over the World Baseball Classic spotlight on Saturday.
Ozzie Albies of the Netherlands and Darell Hernaiz of Puerto Rico both won their respective games with the final swings of the bat.
The United States and Japan continued their dominance in their respective groups.
Team USA won by eight runs, while Japan added to its large run total with an 8-6 victory over South Korea.
Pool A
1 of 4
1 Puerto Rico (2-0)
2. Cuba (1-0)
3. Canada (1-0)
4. Panama (0-2)
5. Colombia (0-2)
Saturday Results
Canada 8, Colombia 2
Puerto Rico 4, Panama 3
Darell Hernaiz delivered one of the most memorable moments of pool play with a walk-off home run in the 10th inning against Panama.
Puerto Rico played from behind for most of the contest. Panama took a two-run advantage in the fifth. Puerto Rico clawed back runs in the sixth and the ninth.
Hernaiz's home run occurred after Puerto Rico leveled the game with a run in the bottom of the 10th.
Canada won its first game of the tournament on Saturday, an 8-2 win over Colombia.
Owen Caissie homered for the Canadians, while Josh Naylor and Abraham Toro contributed two hits each.
Pool B
2 of 4
1 United States (2-0)
2. Italy (1-0)
3. Mexico (1-0)
4. Great Britain (0-2)
5. Brazil (0-2)
Saturday Results
United States 9, Great Britain 1
Italy 8, Brazil 0
Team USA moved to 2-0 with a 9-1 win over Great Britain.
Kyle Schwarber hit the lone American home run in the fifth inning to swing the momentum in Team USA's favor.
Schwarber was one of eight American starters to record a hit. Schwarber went 2-for-4, while Gunnar Henderson went 4-for-5 with a pair of RBI.
Tarik Skubal and Clay Holmes each threw three innings to keep Great Britain at bay. Team GB's lone run came on a leadoff home run from Nate Eaton.
Italy scored eight runs across the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to beat Brazil.
Dante Nori's two home runs from the No. 9 spot in the batting order powered the last rallies.
Team USA is off on Sunday and will return to action on Monday against Mexico.
Pool C
3 of 4
1 Australia (2-0)
2. Japan (2-0)
3. South Korea (1-1)
4. Chinese Taipei (1-2)
5. Czechia (0-3)
Saturday Results
Chinese Taipei 14, Czechia 0
Japan 8, South Korea 6
Seiya Suzuki's two home runs were the highlights of Japan's win over South Korea.
Japan scored 21 runs in its first two games. It is expected to win its next two games to claim the top spot in Pool C.
Chinese Taipei eliminated Czechia with a 14-0 victory. Czechia's allowed 30 runs across its three games at the Tokyo Dome.
Japan and Australia, the two 2-0 teams in Pool C, square off on Sunday to determine the top spot in the pool.
Pool D
4 of 4
1 Venezuela (2-0)
2. Dominican Republic (1-0)
3. Netherlands (1-1)
4. Israel (0-1)
5. Nicaragua (0-2)
Saturday Results
Netherlands 4, Nicaragua 3
Venezuela 11, Israel 3
Ozzie Albies' walk-off home run for the Netherlands was the top highlight from Pool D play in Miami.
The Atlanta second baseman denied Nicaragua a chance at an historic win at the World Baseball Classic level.
Instead, the Netherlands are still in contention to advance to the knockout round.
Venezuela moved to 2-0 with an 11-3 thumping of Israel. Luis Arraez went 4-for-5 with a pair of home runs for the top team in Pool D.
The Dominican Republic faces Netherlands on Monday in a game that should determine which team advances alongside Venezuela. Nicaragua plays Israel in Sunday's other Pool D contest.
