World Baseball Classic coverage
The 2013 World Baseball Classic officially got underway on Saturday in Asia with three games played in Fukuoka, Japan and Taichung, Taiwan. Former Yankees right-hander Chien-Ming Wang was the star of the day, holding Australia to four singles in six scoreless innings despite the mandatory 65-pitch limit in Chinese Taipei's 4-1 victory. You can see some video of his outing right here.
"Our infielders and outfielders all helped out today," said Wang to MLB.com's Debby Wu. "Right now I am hoping to give my best to Chinese Taipei ... I am not thinking about getting a [major league] contract at the moment."
Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports the Yankees were among the MLB clubs to scout the 32-year-old Wang's outing. Last month, we heard New York would keep tabs on its former ace during the tournament as it looks to add pitching debut heading into 2013. Injuries, most notably a torn shoulder capsule, have limited the right-hander to 136 2/3 ineffective innings (6.39 ERA) with the Yankees and Nationals since 2009.
Elsewhere in WBC action, Brazil nearly upset two-time defending champion Japan before a three-run eighth inning put an end to that. The Netherlands shut out Korea thanks in part to Roger Bernardina of the Nationals, who doubled and drove in two runs. The tournament continues in Asia on Sunday (Saturday night/Sunday morning in the United States), when Cuba faces Brazil, Chinese Taipei hosts the Netherlands, and Japan meets China.
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