This is for all the marbles. Well, it's not the championship, but it's an elimination game as Italy meets Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic 2013 for second round action. The winner stays alive, the loser gets a pat on the back for their valiant effort. Here's the schedule, pitching matchups and where to watch Puerto Rico vs. Italy.
TIME: 7 p.m. ET/12 a.m. GMT WHERE to WATCH: MLB Network
Both Puerto Rico and Italy have lost two games in a row. The Puerto Ricans are fresh off their loss against the United States while Italy couldn't close out their game against the Dominican Republic.
Both Pool 2 games will be exciting to watch and Puerto Rico vs. Italy is the first one we enjoy.
In yesterday's game, a fan held up a sign in the Dominican vs. Italian game that read "Mangu vs. Pizza." For those who don't know what mangu is, it's mashed plantains usually accompanied by "tres golpes," which means "three hits" referring to fried salami, eggs and cheese. Now with the Puerto Ricans and Italians meeting up in Miami, don't be shocked if somebody has a sign reading "Arroz con Gandules vs. Spaghetti."
Now, for the more interesting observations, on the mound for the Puerto Ricans will be 35-year-old Giancarlo Alvarado. In his first WBC outing, Alvarado completely shutdown the Spaniards going four innings allowing just one hit and striking out four. Another outing like this will be key in the Puerto Rican's survival in the tournament.
For Italy, they hope not to spoil another great outing as Tiago Da Silva pitched a masterpiece against the Dominican Republic. On the mound for them Wednesday night will be Alex Maestri, who's 27 years old. Maestri also had a successful first outing at the WBC. He faced Canada and allowed just one run on three hits in three innings pitched while walking one and striking out three.
As we can see, these hurlers have great stuff and can shutdown the opposition. It will be interesting to see if they can perform under the spotlight as it's win or go home.
Don't miss the live action. We'll bring you an online live stream and make available the score in case you can't watch the live stream.
