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SoreArms
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For the first time in the World Baseball Classic, Japan faces a must-win situation.
The way this round-robin tournament works, two losses in three games probably means elimination from the 16-team event. So, after dropping a disputed 4-3 decision to Team USA in the bottom of the ninth inning at Angel Stadium, Japan basically must beat Mexico Tuesday afternoon to stay in the hunt for the next round.
Team Mexico suffered a tough 2-1 loss to Korea in its World Baseball Classic Round 2 opener on Sunday at Angel Stadium.
Mexico, which lost its Pool B opener to the United States, 2-0, last week before banging out 19 runs against South Africa and Canada on the way to winning the pool's championship via tiebreaker, was held to five hits by five Korean pitchers on Sunday.
Mexico has yet to announce which of its starting pitchers will get the ball Tuesday, but a team source said Estrada is leaning toward right-hander Esteban Loaiza.
Japan, which played a solid all-around game against the Americans, will start right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka against Mexico. He worked four innings in Japan's victory over Chinese Taipei in Tokyo, surrendering three hits and one run.
The way this round-robin tournament works, two losses in three games probably means elimination from the 16-team event. So, after dropping a disputed 4-3 decision to Team USA in the bottom of the ninth inning at Angel Stadium, Japan basically must beat Mexico Tuesday afternoon to stay in the hunt for the next round.
Team Mexico suffered a tough 2-1 loss to Korea in its World Baseball Classic Round 2 opener on Sunday at Angel Stadium.
Mexico, which lost its Pool B opener to the United States, 2-0, last week before banging out 19 runs against South Africa and Canada on the way to winning the pool's championship via tiebreaker, was held to five hits by five Korean pitchers on Sunday.
Mexico has yet to announce which of its starting pitchers will get the ball Tuesday, but a team source said Estrada is leaning toward right-hander Esteban Loaiza.
Japan, which played a solid all-around game against the Americans, will start right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka against Mexico. He worked four innings in Japan's victory over Chinese Taipei in Tokyo, surrendering three hits and one run.
