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?22:30 ?End of the game, ?USA 5 Puerto Rico 6.

Highlight of the game

?22:26 Buster Posey? connects on 2-1 count, blasts a home run out to left field off of Puerto Rico's starting pitcher Seth Lugo. USA now trails Puerto Rico by 2 in the top of the fifth inning.

?22:22 Reymond Fuentes ?grounds out, to USA ?second basemen Josh Harrison ?to Eric Hosmer ?to end the fourth inning

?22:20 Eddie Rosario ?of ?Puerto Rico grounds out, second basemen ?Josh Harrison to first basemen ?Eric Hosmer.

?22:18 ?Puerto Rico 4 ?USA ?1 through 3 1/2 innings of play at PETCO Park ?in ?San Diego, California

?22:15 Carlos Correa ?snags a hard line drive off the bat of USA's ??Nolan Arenado

?22:14 Christian Yelich ?starts the top half of the fourth for team ?USA . Yelich ?would fly out to left fielder ?Angel Pagan.

?22:09 SCORE UPDATE: ?USA 1 Puerto Rico 4 through 2 2/3 innings of play.

22:07 ?Sorry for the technical difficulties. We are back! Posey's throw is off and Puerto Rico steals second base.

21:11 Adam Jones of team USA lines out to shortstop Francisco Lindor for the second out

21:09 ?Team USA's Andrew McCutchen (Pirates) grounds out to shortstop Francisco Lindor for the first out

21:01 ?Game time has arrived! Stay tuned for updates throughout tonights contest

Almost time! 6 more minutes

We are 45 minutes away from opening pitch! A game that most certainly will be a classic. Catch 2016 World Series champion Javier Baez of team Puerto Rico and Alex Bregman of team USA play in the World Baseball Classic.

Game time is nearing! A little over an hour before the game gets underway. My name is Christian Hansen and I'll be your source of information for tonights big matchup.

This is a critical game in the group as both sides are undefeated in this bracket thus far.

This was the game of World Baseball Classic between United States vs Puerto Rico on 2013 year.

Seth Lugo, meanwhile, is fighting for the fifth and final pitching spot on the Mets’ roster, and this WBC is certainly helping his case. Last time out, against Venezuela, Lugo was next to unhittable. He reached the sixth inning, giving up only one hit while on the mound, and struck out three Venezuelan batters. Lugo will need this same tenacity Friday night against the loaded USA lineup.

Stroman dazzled the Dominican bats in his last outing. He pitched only 4.2 innings, but struck out four batters and gave up three hits on no runs. Stroman constantly kept the DR’s batters off balance, while he mixed his pitches well. He’ll need that same energy and focus against another tough lineup in Puerto Rico.

Tonight’s pitching matchup in USA vs. Puerto Rico Live today sees the Toronto Blue Jays’ Marcus Stroman going up against Seth Lugo of the New York Mets.

One of the big strengths on this USA roster has been the starting pitching score. Chris Archer, Marcus Stroman, and Danny Duffy stymied the Colombian, Dominican Republic, and Canadian bats. It was only until those guys were removed did the runs come across the board. Even against Venezuela, Drew Smyly struck out a career high eight batters, and gave up only three hits in his 4.2 innings of work.

The USA, on the other hand, might be playing better baseball than people imagined they would be. Yes, we knew the Americans were going to be decent -- they always are -- but at one point during the first round it looked like they were going to defeat the Dominican Republic in Miami, Florida. USA were up 5-0 and were cruising, but the DR scored seven unanswered runs to come from behind to win 7-5.

Outside of Japan and the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico might be the third most talented squad in the tournament, even though they have already ended the DR’s unbeaten streak in the World Baseball Classic. There is really no weakness in this roster. They boast Yadier Molina behind the plate, the Chicago Cubs’ Javier Baez up the middle, and a whole host of outfielders who can play at the top of their game on a night in, night out basis. If you have to pinpoint one cause of concern in this lineup, it is the bullpen, which takes a bit of a dip, in terms of quality, once the starter has to be pulled.

Puerto Rico steamrolled their first group, which was in Jalisco, Mexico. In that round, which featured the likes of Italy, Mexico and Venezuela. Their offense put up spectacular numbers, scoring a total of 29 runs during those three games, while the Puerto Rican pitching shut down the bats of the other countries giving up only seven runs for a differential of plus 22.

Hello and welcome to VAVEL USA’s coverage of the World Baseball Classic Live. Tonight, at PetCo Park in San Diego, California, will see USA vs. Puerto Rico Live at time of start of the game.

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About the author
Christian Hansen
Covers the Arizona Diamondbacks and their minor league affiliates