World Baseball Classic Preview: USA vs Dominican Republic

The United States and the Dominican Republic will play in a World Baseball Classic elimination game on Saturday.

The winner of the game will move on to the next round, the loser will be eliminated from the tournament. As big as last week's game was between these two teams, this contest is even bigger. With nothing to lose, both teams should be expected to play this like a World Series game.

The USA is 1-1 after a win over Venezuela and a loss to Puerto Rico. That loss moved Puerto Rico into the semi-finals, and it set-up this winner take all game. The Dominican team has beaten Venezuela as well, but lost to the undefeated Puerto Rican team.

In the 2013 WBC, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic took on one another for the championship. A rematch is possible, but first the Dominican team will have to get past the United States. On paper, it would appear the Dominican Republic has a better chance of advancing. However, the USA has played some hard-fought baseball and has shown an ability to come from behind.

On the mound for the Dominican Republic in this game will be Ervin Santana. The veteran pitcher was added to the roster after the first round, and he brings with him a lot of big league success. Adding Santana is akin to a trade deadline deal for a front-line starter. With the Minnesota Twins last year, Santana had a 3.38 E.R.A to go along with 149 strikeouts.

Team USA is sending Danny Duffy to the mound for the start in this one. Duffy was dominant in the first round, and he is going to need a repeat performance on Saturday. The USA has a talented pitching staff as well, but it is not an easy task to keep the Domincan lineup off the scoreboard. The bullpen will be key as well in this game, as it was in the first round.

When these two teams took the field at Marlins Park last Saturday, the USA led the game late. That was before the Dominican Republic came back and grabbed a massive victory. With seven runs in the last three innings, the Dominican team erased a five-run lead that the Americans previously had. Those runs mostly came off Andrew Miller, one of the best closers in the game today.