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The 2023 World Baseball Classic kicked off on Wednesday with the first two games of Pool A play in Taichung, Taiwan and continued on Thursday. Once Saturday rolls around, the tournament will get into full swing, with eight games on the schedule, their start times ranging from 5 a.m. ET to 11 p.m. ET.

The first round features pool play, with four groups of five teams. Those teams each play one another, with the two best records advancing to a single-elimination eight-team tournament. Here is the full WBC schedule and here is everything you need to know about this year's event. 

Here is a recap of the late night Wednesday and early morning Thursday action.

Thursday's World Baseball Classic scores

  • Netherlands 3, Panama 1 (box score)
  • Australia 8, Korea 7 (box score)
  • Japan 8, China 1 (box score)
  • Italy 6, Cuba 3 (box score)
  • Czech Republic vs. China, 10 p.m., Tubi
  • Cuba vs. Panama, 11:30 p.m., FS1

Ohtani lifts Japan over China

Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani and his Japan teammates proved to be too much for China on Thursday morning, resulting in an 8-1 victory. 

Ohtani made an impact on both sides of the ball. As a pitcher, he threw four scoreless innings, holding China to one hit and no walks. Ohtani struck out five of the 13 batters he faced, and required just 49 pitches in the process. 

Offensively, Ohtani helped break the game open. He notched two hits, including a fourth-inning double that scored two and improved Japan's lead to 3-0, as well as two walks. That double increased Japan's win probability by nearly 13 percentage points, moving it all the way up to 87.8 percent.

Five other Japan hitters drove in at least a run, though the only other member of the lineup with multiple hits was Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar, who went 2 for 4 with two walks from the leadoff spot. 

Harvey, Italy top Cuba in extras

Team Italy, managed by Hall of Famer Mike Piazza, won their tournament opener on Thursday morning, dropping Cuba to 0-2 following a 6-3 extra-innings victory. 

The game remained scoreless until the sixth inning, when Italy plated a run on Padres catcher Brett Sullivan's sacrifice fly. An inning later, Cubs infielder Miles Mastrobuoni would make it 2-0 on a double that scored Royals infielder Nicky Lopez. 

Cuba would answer back in the bottom of the eighth. Former Dodger Erisbel Arruebarrena launched a two-run shot that evened the game. Both sides would fail to score again until the 10th inning, with the Manfred runner in effect. Hits by John Valente, Dominic Fletcher, and the aforementioned Lopez would give Italy a 6-2 lead heading into the bottom of the 10th. 

Cuba did get one run back, on a single from White Sox outfielder Luis Robert. They then watched as Alfredo Despaigne nearly hit a two-run home-run that would've reduced the lead to one. Alas, Despaigne's ball died on the warning track, paving the way for an Italy win.

It's worth noting that Italy received three scoreless innings from former Mets ace Matt Harvey, as well as an additional two scoreless innings from Cardinals right-hander Andre Pallante. Mariners righty Matt Festa earned both the win and a blown save across two innings of work.

Australia shocks Korea

Australia and Korea played a wild game that saw 15 runs cross the plate, including nine total over the final three frames. In the end, Australia pulled off an 8-7 victory.

Neither side had scored until the top of the fourth, when Australia went ahead 1-0 on a sacrifice fly from Logan Wade. Tim Kennelly launched a solo home run in the subsequent inning to extend the Australia lead to 2-0. Korea took a lead of its own in the bottom of the fifth, as Euiji Yang launched a three-run home run. ByungHo Park appeared to have hit a home run of his own in the sixth, but it was later reviewed and called a double. A run still scored, giving Korea a 4-2 lead heading into the seventh.

That's when the game jumped into overdrive. 

Robbie Glendinning hit a three-run home run in the top of the seventh, giving Australia a 5-4 lead. Robbie Perkins would hit another three-run home run in the eight, pushing the lead to 8-4. Korea wasn't done, however. In the bottom of the eighth, Korea scored three runs of its own: one on a bases-loaded walk and two others on separate fielder's choices.

Korea did get the tying run on board in the ninth, with Cardinals infielder Tommy Edman recording a leadoff single. Unfortunately, their luck ran out from there, with Edman making the final out on a stolen-base attempt at second base. 

Netherlands stays undefeated

The Netherlands won the first game of the tournament on Tuesday evening, knocking off Cuba by a 4-2 final. They then won their second game on Wednesday night, edging Panama by a 3-1 score.

The Netherlands were led on Wednesday by a few MLB players. Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts opened scoring in the third with a solo home run to give the Dutch an early 1-0 lead. 

Former Padre Jurickson Profar added a home run of his own in the fifth, extending the lead to 2-0. Panama would cut that margin in half in the sixth inning on an Erasmo Caballero single, but Bogaerts scored on a wild pitch in the eighth to give the Netherlands another run, and more than enough breathing room to nail down the victory.

Pitching-wise, the Netherlands received three-plus scoreless innings from former MLB arm Shairon Martis, as well as scoreless innings from Kevin Kelly, Franklin Van Gurp, and Wendell Floranus.

Netherlands is part of Pool A, alongside the aforementioned Cuba and Panama teams, as well as Italy and host Chinese Taipei. They'll play the latter next on Saturday, with a chance to move to 3-0 in pool play, all but ensuring they'll advance to the final eight.