Monaco overturn two-goal deficit as Man City fall short

MONACO- - Monaco swept into the Champions League quarter-finals and left Manchester City to pick up the pieces of another failed European campaign after a 3-1 victory on Wednesday sent them through on away goals.

Australia braced for low bounce in Ranchi

RANCHI, India- - Australia will once again have to make do with lack of bounce at Ranchi but the tourists have the wherewithal to overcome that challenge in the third test against India, skipper Steve Smith said on Wednesday.

Dutch on brink of semis after routing Cuba

By Danny Knobler / Special to MLB.com

TOKYO -- Stacked with Major League stars, the Netherlands were a team to

watch heading into the World Baseball Classic. Now the Dutch are on the verge of a return trip to the semifinals, and their lineup is clicking.

A 14-1 win in seven innings over Cuba on Wednesday at the Tokyo Dome left the Netherlands with a 2-1 record in Pool E. Depending on the result of the Japan-Israel game, the Netherlands will either advance to directly to next week's final round at Dodger Stadium or have a Thursday tiebreaker game. A Japan win would guarantee the Netherlands a spot, while an Israel win would leave three teams at 2-1 and bring the tournament's tiebreaker rule into effect.

Former Major Leaguer Wladimir Balentien homered twice and drove in five runs for the Netherlands, which scored in double-digits the last two games and finished Wednesday's game in seven inning because of the early-termination rule.

Next stop, LA: Japan reaches Classic semis

By Danny Knobler / Special to MLB.com

TOKYO -- Japan completed an undefeated run through the first two rounds of the World Baseball Classic with an 8-3 win over Israel on Wednesday, sending the two-time champions back to the semifinals for the fourth consecutive tournament.

Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh's home run broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning, and Japan went on to win a sixth consecutive game at Tokyo Dome, securing first place in Pool E and earning a trip to Dodger Stadium.

Japan will play the second-place team from Pool F on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET).

The loss ended Israel's surprise run through WBC 2017 and sent the Netherlands to a second consecutive semifinal. The Dutch, who beat Cuba, 14-1 earlier in the day, will face the Pool F winner Monday (9 p.m. ET)

Japan is the only country that has made it to the semifinals each time the World Baseball Classic has been played, but its 2013 semifinal loss to Puerto Rico still stings for Japanese players, fans and baseball officials here. For four years, Japan has focused on regaining the title it won in both '06 and '09.

Right-hander Kodai Senga pitched the first five innings for Japan. Israel had just two hits until the ninth inning, when an Ike Davis single broke up the shutout.

Josh Zeid pitched four scoreless innings for Israel, but reliever Dylan Axelrod gave up Tsutsugoh's home run on his second pitch of the sixth inning.

Japanese baseball has long been associated with

small ball, but this version of Team Japan has sluggers. Tops among them is Tsutsugoh, who was the Most Valuable Player in Pool B in the first round and hit his third home run of the tournament Wednesday. The 25-year-old Tsutsugoh, the cleanup hitter for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, hit 44 home runs in 133 games last season. His home run off Axelrod was a no-doubter, landing deep in the seats below the center-field scoreboard.

Japan's run through the tournament has also shown off a deep and talented bullpen. Senga had been part of it, but Japan manager Hiroki Kokubo chose to start him against Israel. It worked out well. Senga gave up a base hit to Sam Fuld on his second pitch of the game, and he then didn't allow another hit over five strong innings.

Senga started 25 games for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks last season, going 12-3 with a 2.61 ERA. "I was so determined not to give up any runs every inning," Senga said.

Short on starting pitchers, Israel manager Jerry Weinstein gave the ball to Zeid, his closer through the first five games of the tournament. Zeid gave Israel a chance with four scoreless innings, and perhaps helped give himself a chance at a job with a Major League club. Zeid, a free agent who had 48 Major League appearances from 2013-14 with the Astros, pitched 10 scoreless innings in the tournament.

Tsutsugoh's home run put Japan ahead, but it was the four runs that scored after it that took Israel out of the game. Weinstein used four pitchers in the inning, but there were five hits, two walks (one intentional), a bases-loaded hit batter and an error before Brad Goldberg struck out Sheiichi Uchikawa to end it.

Molina spurs PR past DR to remain unbeaten

By Chad Thornburg / MLB.com

For the first time since 2009, the Dominican Republic suffered a loss in the World Baseball Classic. In a rematch of the last Classic's title game, Puerto Rico defeated the reigning champions, 3-1, on Tuesday night in the Pool F opener at Petco Park.

Puerto Rico (4-0) was led by a stellar performance by its bullpen and a strong showing from veteran catcher Yadier Molina. In the first, he secured a throw to nail Jean Segura attempting to score at home for the third out, escaping what had been a no-out, bases-loaded jam.

"The motivation was there," Puerto Rican manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "We were waiting for this for four years."

Molina also homered, drove in two runs, threw out a baserunner for a pivotal out late in the game and helped guide the pitching staff through nine innings of one-run ball. "As Yadier Molina goes, the team goes," Rodriguez said. "He's the heart of the team."

The Daily Herald

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