2026 World Baseball Classic: Canada starting Balazovic vs. Puerto Rico, Quantrill vs. Cuba

Canada has announced their starting pitchers for the last two group stage games at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Jordan Balazovic will get the ball on Tuesday against Puerto Rico and Cal Quantrill will be on the mound on Wednesday against Cuba, according to manager Ernie Whitt.

Here’s what you need to know.

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Canada’s starting pitchers

Balazovic is a 27-year-old right-hander who plays in the Detroit Tigers minor league system. He registered a 1-0 record in 2023 with the Minnesota Twins in his only MLB season.

Quantrill, also a righty, is more experienced. The 31-year-old, who signed with the Texas Rangers in the off-season, has a career MLB record of 47-46 with a 4.35 ERA and 1.334 WHIP. He also pitched for Canada at the 2023 WBC, but only went 0.2 innings.

Canada started Michael Soroka in their 8-2 tournament-opening win over Colombia on Saturday. Jameson Taillo got the ball in a 4-3 loss to Panama on Sunday.

Canada

The final two group stage games for Canada have huge implications. Puerto Rico and Cuba each started the tournament 2-0, so Canada needs to win at least one of those head-to-heads and possibly both if they want to advance.

The top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stage. Canada has never reached the knockout stage in the five previous WBC’s. They enter Monday as heavy +15,000 long shots to win the tournament.