Starting Lineups, Pitchers for Puerto Rico vs. Mexico WBC Quarterfinal

Puerto Rico and Mexico will meet in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic Friday night at 7:00 p.m. at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida.

After finishing first in Pool C, Mexico will be the home team for Friday's game, taking on the Pool D runner-up Team Puerto Rico. After dropping an early game 9-6 to Venezuela, Puerto Rico recovered, en route to a 3-1 record in group play. Venezuela remains undefeated, and will play Team USA in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Team Mexico edged out Team USA for a first place finish in Pool C. While both teams went 3-1 in group play, Team Mexico owned the tiebreaker thanks to an 11-5 victory it picked up over Team USA last Sunday.

Team Puerto Rico will turn to starting pitcher Marcus Stroman. After being named MVP of the World Baseball Classic championship game in 2017 for Team USA, Stroman crossed over to the team that the United States beat in the championship: Puerto Rico. His mother is Puerto Rican. Stroman allowed one run on two hits, no walks and a home run over 4.2 innings in his first start of the WBC, in Puerto Rico's 9-1 victory over Team Nicaragua last Saturday.

Mexico will be pitching its ace, Julio Urias. In his seventh season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Urias led the National League in ERA (2.16), while finishing third in NL Cy Young Award voting. He also finished 14th in NL MVP voting. Urias was born and raised in Mexico, and on his 16th birthday, signed a contract with the Dodgers. Urias, still only 26, made his Major League debut at age 19.

The winner of Friday's game will go on to play Japan in the semifinals in Miami, Florida on Monday. The loser will go home. Japan is undefeated, at 5-0, in WBC play in 2023.

On the other side of the bracket, Cuba awaits the winner of USA vs. Venezuela. Cuba will play whichever team advances, on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. ET in Miami, Florida.

Here's how Team Puerto Rico will line up for Friday's game:

1) SS Francisco Lindor

2) CF Kike Hernandez

3) RF Nelson Velazquez

4) 3B Emmanuel Rivera

5) 2B Javier Baez

6) LF Eddie Rosario

7) DH Christian Vazquez

8) 1B Neftali Soto

9) C Martin Maldonado

SP Marcus Stroman

PUERTO RICO VS MEXICO LINEUPS !!!!! pic.twitter.com/0ZTnQf0cWV
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) March 17, 2023

Here's a look at how Team Mexico will line up for Friday's game:

1) LF Randy Arozarena

2) RF Alex Verdugo

3) 1B Joey Meneses

4) DH Rowdy Tellez

5) 3B Isaac Paredes

6) 2B Luis Urias

7) SS Alan Trejo

8) CF Alek Thomas

9) C Austin Barnes

SP Julio Urias