Cuba-Brazil Open World Baseball Classic III

HAVANA TIMES — The Cuban baseball team will face Brazil as its first opponent in the World Baseball Classic III, to be held next March at the Fukuoka Dome in Japan, reported the Prensa Latina news agency.

This first game within the framework of the Group A teams will take place on March 3. A day later the island’s squad will come up against China, and on March 6 it will confront the powerful host team, the winner of the first two WBC tournaments.

The semifinals and finals of the tournament will be played at the AT&T Park in the US city of San Francisco.

The Classic will continue to be ruled by limiting pitches, with a maximum of 65 in the first round, 80 in the second and 95 in the third.  Meanwhile the mercy rule will be effective in seven innings for a minimum margin 15 runs and the Schiller Rule will take effect after 14 innings.

Cuba finished second to Japan in WBC 1, but didn’t make it to the semifinals in WBC 2, losing twice to Japan to be eliminated in Round Two.