4:00 AM UTC
After starting the World Baseball Classic by splitting a pair of thrilling contests, Italy continues Pool A play against Panama at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taiwan.
Italy outlasted Cuba in a 10-inning battle in its opener before dropping a wild back-and-forth affair against Chinese Taipei. As for Panama, it has lost two straight after winning its opening game.
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup:
When and where: Live at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taiwan.
How you can watch: The game between Panama and Italy is live on FS1. Games are available on FOX, FS1, FS2, Tubi or FOX Deportes, and every game can be streamed online in the FOX Sports App. For international viewing options, click here.
How you can listen: Live audio coverage of all games will be carried on Sirius XM, TuneIn, MLB.com and in the MLB App.
What’s at stake: The 20 teams have been placed in four pools of five teams for the first round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, with each team playing the others in its pool once each, and the teams with the two best records in each pool at the end of this round advancing to the knockout stage. Panama enters this game 1-2 in Pool A, while Italy is 1-1. They are competing with the Netherlands (2-0), Chinese Taipei (1-1) and Cuba (1-2).
Matchup history: This is the first meeting between Panama and Italy in the World Baseball Classic.
Ruben Tejada, SS, Panama: The nine-year big league veteran has flashed some power through three games for Panama. Though Tejada hit only 10 home runs over 2,396 plate appearances in his MLB career, he’s accounted for Team Panama’s only home run to this point. He also has a pair of doubles and three RBIs while hitting .364 (4-for-11).
Nicky Lopez, INF, Italy: The Royals infielder is off to a hot start through two games for Team Italy, going 4-for-8 (.500) with five RBIs and two runs scored.
