World Baseball Classic Semifinal thread: Puerto Rico vs. The Netherlands

Puerto Rico and the Kingdom of the Netherlands are both in the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic for the second consecutive tournament, although the Netherlands has never reached the finals while Puerto Rico lost to the Dominican Republic in the 2013 Finals.

You don’t think of the Dutch as being big baseball fans, but the Kingdom of the Netherlands encompasses baseball hotbeds Aruba and Curaçao which produced many of the players on the WBC roster. Still, don’t dismiss the Netherlands-born Dutch, such as tonight’s starting pitcher, former Marlins pitcher Rick Vandenhurk.

The Puerto Ricans come in with their blonde hair and fearsome lineup as favorites. Brewers pitcher Jorge López takes the mound for the Puerto Ricans with former Royals Carlos Beltrán and Reymond Fuentes in the starting lineup.

The game will air live from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on MLB Network and stream online on MLB TV. The winner will take on the winner of the United States vs. Japan game that takes place tomorrow night.