Team USA vs. Canada Live Stats
Team USA Game Notes
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The USA Baseball Professional National Team will open the Super Round stage of the 2021 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Baseball Americas Qualification Event (AOQ) for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad Tokyo 2020, Friday evening with a 7 p.m. (ET) contest against Canada at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
RHP Homer Bailey (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will get the start on the mound for Team USA, which posted a 2-0 overall mark in the Opening Round of group play at the WBSC's AOQ. The U.S. saw its final game of Group A play vs. Puerto Rico rained out on back-to-back days, while Canada dropped a 5-0 decision to Venezuela in its final Opening Round contest on Wednesday.
The U.S. Professional National Team brings a 10-6 all-time series advantage over Canada into the matchup. In the two squads' last meeting, Team USA scored seven runs in the first two innings en route to an 8-0 win over Canada on March 12, 2017 in Pool C play of the 2017 World Baseball Classic at Marlins Park. Eric Hosmer drove in two runs in the first and Nolan Arenado hit a three-run homer in the third to give the U.S. a comfortable lead. Buster Posey’s RBI single and solo homer capped the scoring for the stars and stripes, who got a seven-strikeout performance from Danny Duffy. Tyler Clippard provided two hitless innings out of the bullpen, striking out four of the six batters he faced.
The U.S. enters the Super Round with a 1-0 mark in the standings by virtue of its victory over the Dominican Republic in group play on Tuesday. Team USA will take on Venezuela, the other unbeaten club through the Opening Round, on Saturday (June 5) at 7 p.m. in Port St. Lucie to conclude the AOQ. Each game throughout the AOQ will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The AOQ champion, which will be determined by won-loss record vs. the Super Round field, will claim one of the final two berths in the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games. In order to qualify for the Olympic Games from the Baseball Americas Qualifier, the U.S. will need to win the tournament. If the U.S. does not qualify for the Olympic Games out of the Baseball Americas Qualifier, but finishes second or third, they will participate in the Final Qualifier that will take place in Puebla, Mexico from June 22-27.
The U.S. has participated at the Olympic Games in 1988 (demonstration sport), 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2008, winning a gold medal in Seoul 1988 and Sydney 2000. The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games will mark the first time baseball has been featured in the Games since 2008 in Beijing, where Team USA won the bronze medal.
Stay tuned to USABaseball.com for all of the latest news, previews and recaps from the WBSC AOQ.
