Colombia and Germany start Tucson World Baseball Classic Qualifier with wins

World No. 13 Colombia and No. 17 Germany debuted with wins in the Tucson (USA) World Baseball Classic Qualifier, which started at the Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium on Sunday. Germany outscored No. 20 China (12-2) in the opening game, while Colombia shut out No. 23 Brazil (5-0) in the night match.

Germany-China

China took an early lead on third baseman Yun Lu's RBI single and tied it in the third after Germany took advantage of a shaky start by the Chinese defence with a two-run second. German starter Marcus Solbach shut the door on China's lineup after that and cruised through the pitch limit, striking out six in 6.1 innings.

"I knew [I was going back for the 7th] because the coach didn't take me out," Solbach told MLB.com. "As a starting pitcher, you go until you get your hand shaken. I was waiting and trying to make eye contact to see if [Jendrick] was coming, but he never came. So I knew I had one batter left, and, yeah, I emptied the tank."

Germany took the lead on a walk and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth and Shawn Larry made it 6-2 with a two-RBI double in the bottom of the fifth.

A two-run homer by former Big Leaguer Donald Lutz started a six-run bottom of the seventh that ended the game by the run difference rule.

"There were a lot of German jerseys, a bunch of hats and stuff," Lutz said after the game. "It's just amazing. It feels like playing back home."

Colombia-Brazil

Veteran right-hander Julio Teheran gave no chance to the Brazilian lineup. He needed only 50 pitches to work through five innings and took a no-hitter into the sixth. Shortstop Vitor Ito bunted his way to first with one, breaking the no-hitter.

"To be honest, the bunt surprised me because I was expecting them to swing the bat, but that's the game, and I respect that," commented Teheran.

Colombia was leading 2-0 at the time. They took the lead scoring on a groundout in the second against Brazilian starter Bo Takahashi. They got to reliever Tiago Da Silva in the fourth, when designated hitter Dilson Herrera doubled and centre fielder Bryan Buelvas singled him home to make it 2-0.

Teheran got out of the sixth inning with a force out and a pick off. In the bottom half of the frame, Colombia opened the score on a two-RBI double by right fielder Jesus Marriaga. Catcher Jair Camargo doubled, stole third and scored on a wild pitch to add an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh.

Ezequiel Zabaleta, Reiver Sanmartin and Pedro Garcia kept Brazil scoreless through the ninth.

"What's special about this team is the youth and the veteran guys. It's an explosion of talent with the young players," commented former Major Leaguer Dilson Herrera.

The first-place team and the winner of the one-game playoff between the third- and second-place finishers will advance to the World Baseball Classic 2026, completing the group of 20 participants.

No. 16 Nicaragua and No. 2 Chinese Taipei became the 17th and 18th qualified teams for the World Baseball Classic 2026.

The 16 teams placed among the top four of the respective groups in the World Baseball Classic 2023 have already split into groups.

Tokyo, Japan, March 5 to 10, No. 1 Japan, No. 11 Australia, No. 15 Czechia, No. 6 Korea

San Juan, Puerto Rico, March 6 to 11, No. 9 Puerto Rico, No. 22 Canada, No. 10 Cuba, No. 8 Panama

Houston, Texas (USA), March 6 to 11, No. 5 USA, No. 18 Great Britain, No. 14 Italy, No. 4 Mexico

Miami, Florida (USA), March 6 to 11, No. 11 Dominican Republic, No. 19 Israel, No. 7 Netherlands, No. 3 Venezuela.

Houston and Miami will host the quarterfinals on March 13 and 14, respectively. Miami will host the championship round. The semifinals are scheduled for March 15 and 16, and the World Championship Final will be played on Tuesday, March 17.