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

Group B play was officially completed Friday in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, while Group C and D were slated to continue after finally kicking off Thursday.

In addition to the United States being in action for the first time in the tournament, Japan and China locked horns in a rivalry game to close out Group B.

Here is a look at Friday's World Baseball Classic results, as well as a breakdown of how each game played out.

Friday's WBC Results

Pool	Matchup	Result/Time (ET)
B	China vs. Japan	7-1 JPN
C	Colombia vs. United States	3-2 USA
D	Venezuela vs. Puerto Rico	11-0, PR

Japan 7, China 1

Japan completed a perfect run in group play Friday, as it defeated China 7-1 and sent the Chinese team home with an 0-3 record.

The favored Japanese jumped all over China in the early going by scoring one run in the first inning, two in the second and two in the third.

Japan's first big blow of the game came in the bottom of the second when catcher Seiji Kobayashi hit a two-run home run to extend the lead to 3-0, as seen in this video courtesy of WBC Baseball:

China managed to get on the board in the top of the third with an RBI single from Ray Chang, but its momentum didn't last long.

Japanese first baseman Sho Nakata went yard with a two-run bomb in the bottom of the frame, marking his second homer of the tournament:

It was smooth sailing for Japan from that point on, as it added two more insurance runs in the seventh inning to complete the 7-1 victory.

While starting pitcher Shota Takeda looked shaky at times for Japan in allowing four hits, one walk and one run in three innings, Shintaro Fujinami was dominant in relief.

Fujinami threw two innings, allowing just one walk with no hits and no runs to go along with four strikeouts:

Japan was favored to win the group, and it did so in impressive fashion by completing a perfect round robin.

No team has enjoyed more success in World Baseball Classic history than Japan, as it won the tournament in both 2006 and 2009.

Although Japan had to settle for a third-place finish in 2013, it seems to have the ideal balance between hitting, defense and pitching needed to win it all for the third time in WBC history.

USA 3, Colombia 2 

Team USA started off its 2017 World Baseball Classic in thrilling fashion with a 3-2 walk-off win in the bottom of the 10th inning courtesy of an Adam Jones single to center field. 

The Red, White and Blue were ice-cold at the plate through five innings, but they rebounded in the sixth to tie things up. 

Facing a 2-0 deficit, Jones ripped an RBI double to left field that scored Brandon Crawford and cut the margin in half. One batter later, a wild pitch plated Ian Kinsler, and the Americans knotted things at two runs apiece. 

A scoreless stalemate set in over the ensuing three innings, but Jones came up huge and played hero facing an 0-2 count to achieve a feat that has eluded him in MLB play since 2012, per ESPN Stats & Info: 

Now 1-0 at the WBC, the U.S. will return to the diamond at Marlins Park in Miami on Saturday for what figures to be an exciting tilt against the Dominican Republic. 

Colombia will also be back in action Saturday when it faces off against Canada. 

Puerto Rico 11, Venezuela 0 

Puerto Rico throttled Venezuela 11-0 in seven innings Friday night as the mercy rule was called into play at Estadio Charros de Jalisco in Mexico. 

The 2013 WBC runner-ups bashed Venezuelan pitching all night long, and they chased starting pitcher Felix Hernandez from the game after just 2.2 innings. 

The Puerto Ricans proceeded to crush the Venezuelan bullpen after mounting an early 2-0 lead. Carlos Correa homered in the sixth inning to give his side a 3-0 edge, and that shot appeared to precipitate an avalanche of runs. 

Yadier Molina also went yard in the sixth, and his jack put Puerto Rico in front 5-0 entering the seventh inning. 

At that point, it was just a matter of time before the Group D favorites put the finishing touches on things. 

Carlos Beltran, Javier Baez and Eddie Rosario all drove in runs to start the seventh, and a two-run homer from T.J. Rivera officially put the Puerto Ricans up 11-0 to enact the mercy rule, as MLB documented on Twitter: 

Group D play will continue Saturday, with Puerto Rico in action against against Mexico and Venezuela looking to get on track versus Italy.