The 2013 Dominican Republic (DR) is the only one to win the championship in the WBC (World Baseball Classic).

The Dominican Republic wrote a myth of winning all 8 matches in the 3rd WBC. After defeating Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Spain in the group stage, the Dominican Republic advanced to the final tournament by defeating Italy, the United States and Puerto Rico in succession in the second round, which was held in a double-elimination method.

After defeating the Netherlands 4-1 in the semifinals, the Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico 3-0 in the final to claim their first title of the tournament.

This 5th WBC will play 7 matches if it reaches the final. It is expected that a winning country will emerge from all 7 wins. Japan, which took first place in Group B. Among the first and second placed teams in Groups A and B, Japan is the only country that finished the group stage with all four wins.

However, the United States and the Dominican Republic, which were likely to finish first in Groups C and D, had already suffered one loss, making it impossible to win the match. The Dominican Republic and the United States are the countries ranked first and second in the odds of winning by sports betting companies right before the tournament.

Venezuela, which topped Group D with two consecutive wins, is also expected to pass the first round with a four-game win, but the chances of winning are not as high as Japan’s. For now, it can be evaluated that Japan has shown the skills to challenge the legend of winning the game for the second time in history.

Japan will play in the quarterfinals against Italy, second in Group A, at 7 p.m. on the 16th at the Tokyo Dome. In terms of objective power, Italy is a team far below.

Japan’s starting pitcher was virtually decided to be Ohtani Shohei. In the first game of the group stage on the 9th, Ohtani checked his condition neatly, recording 4 innings, 1 hit, 5 strikeouts and no runs against China. His fastball velocity reached 100 mph, and his control was stable. Since the group stage match was decided according to the date of the quarterfinals, it can be said that the original plan will not change.

Since the pitch limit for the second round is 80, Ohtani is expected to be able to handle 5 to 6 innings if there is no crisis. Ohtani will not appear in the WBC any more even if Japan advances to the semifinals and finals, and will improve his condition in line with the opening schedule of his team, the Los Angeles Angels.

Italy recorded a batting average of 0.283 (39 hits in 138 bats), 5.0 points per game, and a team OPS of 0.736 in 4 group stage matches. No hitter has ever hit a home run in Italy. As of the 13th of the 20 participating countries, only the Dominican Republic and Italy have not had a team home run. The Dominican Republic has only played one match. 토토사이트

The main hitters are Sal Trerick (0.387, 4 RBIs), Nick Lopez (0.500, 7 RBIs), Miles Mastrobuuni (0.286, 2 RBIs), and Brett Sullivan (0.400, 2 RBIs). Ohtani’s fast ball and various breaking balls must be attacked.

On the other hand, in Japan, Ohtani hit the best with a batting average of 0.500, 1 home run, 8 RBIs and an OPS of 1.684 in 4 group stage games, Kensuke Kondo hit 0.467 batting average, 1 home run and 5 RBIs, and Masataka Yoshida hit 8 RBIs with a batting average of 0.417. Japan recorded a team batting average of 0.326 (43 hits in 132 at-bats), 4 homers, and a team OPS of 1.001.

If Japan advances to the quarterfinals, it will meet the strong players in Groups C and D. The Dominican Republic, the United States, Venezuela and Mexico are on the list. These are the mountains that must be overcome in order to win anyway. In the group stage, Japan, which has won 4 consecutive wins, automatically becomes the all-time winner.