The big day is final here. Two weeks of thrilling international baseball comes to a conclusion with the United States looking to defend their World Baseball Classic crown against undefeated Japan, who won the first two Classics in 2006 and 2009. Team USA beat them en route to the title in 2017, so Japan will be out for revenge. The game is full of intriguing storylines, so let’s recap how each team got here and what to watch for tonight.
Team USA finished runners-up in their pool behind Mexico and thus played then-undefeated Venezuela in the quarterfinals.