World Baseball Classic 2017: Scores and Reaction from Thursday Pool Play Results

Pool A play reached its conclusion Thursday in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, while action in Pool B continued and both Pool C and Pool D were slated to commence.

In the early games, Australia managed to remain in the hunt for advancement to the second round, while host South Korea ended its tournament on a high note in Pool A.

Here is a full listing of Thursday's WBC results, along with analysis regarding where things stand in the battle for global baseball supremacy.

Thursday's WBC Results

Pool	Matchup	Result/Time (ET)
B	Australia vs. China	11-0 AUS
A	South Korea vs. Chinese Taipei	11-8 KOR
C	Canada vs. Dominican Republic	9-2 DR
D	Mexico vs. Italy	10-9 ITA
B	Australia vs. Cuba	4-3 CUBA

Australia 11, China 0

After losing to Japan on Wednesday despite a valiant effort, Australia got on track Thursday in the World Baseball Classic, defeating China via the mercy rule in eight innings by a score of 11-0.

The loss knocked China out of contention for the second round and set up a win-and-in game between the Aussies and Cuba.

Australia excelled in all areas Thursday, including on the mound, as former MLB pitcher Travis Blackley allowed just two hits in 4.2 innings of work.

ESPN's Dallas Braden pointed out how huge Blackley's performance was for Australia's chances of moving on:

Blackley was the beneficiary of some big-time run support, and it began in the third inning.

Former Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics first baseman Luke Hughes blasted a two-run home run, as seen in this video courtesy of WBC Baseball:

That was all the help Blackley would need, but the Aussies were far from done with their offensive assault at the Tokyo Dome.

The exclamation point was placed on the win in the top of the eighth inning when former Twins second baseman James Beresford hit a grand slam:

That meant China had to score two or more runs in the bottom of the eighth to keep the game going, but Tom Bailey managed to close it out for Australia.

The expectation going into the World Baseball Classic was that Australia and Cuba would battle it out for the No. 2 spot in Group B behind Japan, and by virtue of Thursday's win, that will come to fruition.

South Korea 11, Chinese Taipei 8

Although South Korea and Chinese Taipei were already eliminated from second-round contention entering their meeting Thursday, that wasn't apparent based on the effort both teams gave.

Each side was desperate to leave the WBC with a victory, and Korea managed to do just that by outlasting Taipei 11-8 in 10 innings.

The Koreans jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first two innings by virtue of a hit parade that included a two-run double by Geonchang Seo.

Taipei showed mettle, though, by scoring three runs in the bottom of the second to get back in the game.

Korea widened its lead to 8-3 in the top of the fourth, but Chinese Taipei answered with a two-run homer by Che-Hsuan Lin in the bottom of the frame:

Chinese Taipei then added two more runs in the sixth and tied the contest at 8-8 in the seventh on an RBI single by Yung-Chi Chen.

After scoreless eighth and ninth innings, the game went to extras. It didn't take long for Korea to regain the lead, as Euiji Yang notched a sacrifice fly.

South Korea then added some insurance when Taekyun Kim hit a two-run home run:

With the Koreans on top 11-8, St. Louis Cardinals reliever Seung Hwan Oh completed his second inning of work to finish the game and earn the win.

The 2017 World Baseball Classic was undoubtedly a bitter disappointment for Korea, as it finished third in 2006 and second in 2009.

Its talent was finally on full display Thursday, but it wasn't enough to return to the podium this year.

Dominican Republic 9, Canada 2

The defending champions looked like a dominant force again in their first game of the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

The Dominican Republic handled Canada with ease in a 9-2 victory. It wasted little time breaking out its powerful offense and pushed across four runs in the second inning. One came from a Jose Bautista single, but Welington Castillo turned heads with an opposite-field blast:

Those runs were plenty of support for the strong pitching effort. Carlos Martinez started the game and threw four innings, allowing zero earned runs and three hits in the process. The seven Dominican Republic pitchers who took the mound allowed just one earned run, and Jeurys Familia closed the door with one of the staff's 11 strikeouts.

The pitchers also received some help from Manny Machado in the field, as MLB Network highlighted:

Despite the final score, the game was still up for grabs in the sixth when Dominican Republic held a 5-2 lead. That's when Bautista added three insurmountable insurance runs with a towering home run to left:

The victors put things on cruise control from there and started this edition of the World Baseball Classic right where they left off.

Italy 10, Mexico 9

The showdown between Mexico and Italy resembled basketball rather than baseball with drastic momentum swings, and Italy enjoyed the biggest spurt of all with five runs in the bottom of the ninth to earn a thrilling comeback victory.

Mexico took a seemingly safe 9-5 lead into the last frame, but Alex Liddi's double scored two before Brandon Nimmo's single scored another. With the bases loaded and zero down, John Andreoli's grounder off Oliver Perez snuck through and scored two more to give Italy the victory.

MLB Network passed along the highlight:

Mexico's bullpen controlled the middle innings after starter Yovani Gallardo allowed four runs in four innings, but Roberto Osuna was credited with five earned runs allowed even though Perez couldn't notch the save and eliminate the baserunners he inherited.

Despite the loss, Mexico got on the scoreboard immediately when Esteban Quiroz hit a leadoff homer, as the World Baseball Classic shared:

Andreoli answered right back with a game-tying long ball in the bottom of the first. From there, Mexico moved ahead 2-1 off Quiroz's double in the third and 4-1 in the fourth thanks to a home run from Japhet Amador and RBI single from Sebastian Elizalde.

It was Italy's turn in the bottom of the fourth, and it bounced back with three runs to tie the game thanks to home runs from Rob Segedin and Chris Colabello, the latter of which MLB Network captured:

Mexico took the lead in the ensuing inning with three runs, two of which scored on Luis Alfonso Cruz's double. Drew Butera responded with a homer for Italy to make it 7-5, but Mexico added more in the seventh with a two-RBI single from Elizalde.

Mexico just couldn't carry that momentum over into the bottom of the ninth.

Cuba 4, Australia 3

Cuba's pitching set the tone in a 4-3 victory over Australia after Australia's lineup had previously exploded for 11 runs in its win over China. The victory earned Cuba a spot in the next round of the tournament.

Lazaro Blanco started and pitched 2.2 shutout innings. He then handed the ball to Yoennis Year, who allowed just one run and struck out three in two innings before Vladimir Garcia allowed two runs in three innings. Livan Moinelo and Miguel Lahera closed the win.

Despite the loss, Australia scored first when Logan Wade notched an RBI single in the fifth. It had plenty of momentum at that point because starting pitcher Warwick Saupold threw four shutout innings and struck out four.

However, all it took was one big inning for Cuba, which came against reliever Lachlan Wells in the bottom of the fifth. Cuba loaded the bases with two outs, and Alfredo Despaigne drilled a grand slam to take the lead for good.

The World Baseball Classic shared the blast and celebration:

Australia climbed within two when Trent Oeltjen hit a solo home run in the seventh and one when Mitchell Dening tallied an RBI single in the eighth. However, it couldn't do anything against Lahera in the ninth.