World Baseball Classic 2013 scores: Saturday March 9

Chinese Taipei was in control for much of the game, thanks to another strong start from ex-MLB pitcher Chien-Ming Wang. Wang pitched six scoreless innings allowing six hits and one walk. The former Yankees has now thrown twelve straight scoreless innings in the classic. His teammates scratched out runs in the third and fifth innings, taking a 2-0 lead into the eighth. Japan then rallied for two runs off the bats of captain Shinnosuke Abe and his Yomiuri Giants teammate Hayato Sakamoto in the eighth, but Taiwan retook the lead with three straight hits against Japan's struggling star Masahiro Tanaka. Taiwan's Hung-Wen Chen got a quick out to start the ninth, then issued a walk to Takashi Toritani before getting the second out. With Ibata at the plate, Toritani stole second to setup the game-tying hit. Nakata completed the comeback one innnig later with his sacrifice to bring in Nobuhiro Matsuda and give Japan the win.

Former Mets teammates Angel Pagan and Carlos Beltran got things started for Puerto Rico in the first. Pagan hit an infield single then came in to score on Beltran's double. After that, Aviles drove in Beltran with a sacrifice fly and Carlos Rivera managed a bases-loaded walk to plate the third run. The Puerto Rican pitching staff took over from there, led by starter Giancarlo Alvarado. Alavardo pitched four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and no walks while striking out four before handing the ball to Hiram Burgos. Burgos pitched into the ninth, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out three.

First baseman Chris Colabello lead the attack, hitting a three run home run in the third and going 4-5 with four RBIs and three runs scored. Only one Italian player was hit-less in the game; DH Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs went 0-3, but he also drew two walks and scored twice. While Italy lead from the third inning on, the game did get tense in the seventh as Canada rallied back to within two runs, but Italy responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning and after a five-run eighth the game was called. Italy also got some solid pitching from starter Alex Maestri, who went three innings and gave up one run on three hits and a walk while striking out three to get the win.

After losing to Italy in their first game, Mexico rode Adrian Gonzalez's bat and Yovani Gallardo's right arm to a strong victory over the US team and knuckleballer R.A. Dickey.

Mexico got two runs in the first off Dickey as Eduardo Arredondo lead off with a single and Ramiro Pena pushed him to third with a double. Luis Cruz drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly and then Gonzalez got his first RBI of the day with a ground out to bring in Pena. In the third, Gonzalez brought in two more runs with a blast to deep right-center that held up under review. He went 1-2 with three walks and three RBIs to lead the Mexican team's offensive attack. Starter Yovani Gallardo pitched into the fourth inning, allowing one run on two hits and one walk while striking out four. Luis Mendoza relieved him in the fourth as the US threatened and held the Americans off for two innings. San Francsico Giants closer Sergio Romo got the save for Mexico.