San Diego Padres: WBC Takes Center Stage at Petco This Week

The stage is set for the home of the San Diego Padres to host the World Baseball Classic this week. We preview some of the most highly anticipated matchups.

The perfect opportunity for fans who want a break from San Diego Padres spring baseball in Peoria has come. The World Baseball Classic will dominate headlines this week, as the stakes are higher for the matchups at Petco Park.

San Diego fans can come check out all the action daily from Tuesday through possibly Sunday, a six day span in which up to seven games could be played.

The action will begin Tuesday night, featuring the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, beginning at 6 PM PT. The full schedule of games at Petco is as follows:

• Tuesday, 6 PM: Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico
• Wednesday, 6 PM: United States vs. Venezuela
• Thursday, 7 PM: Venezuela vs. Dominican Republic
• Friday, 7 PM: United States vs. Puerto Rico
• Saturday, 12:30 PM: Puerto Rico vs. Venezuela
• Saturday, 7 PM: United States vs. Dominican Republic

A possible tie-breaking game will take place on Sunday at 5 PM. Basically, each of the four countries will play three games, every other day from Tuesday through Friday, and one on Saturday. If two of the four teams end up with a 2-1 record, they will face off for the group title on Sunday.

Fans will have a lot to look forward in seeing these four teams in action. Obviously, since the United States is part of this group, fans can cheer on their home country and see a lot of familiar MLB stars in action.

More from Friars on Base

• Padres barely missed out on high-end veteran starting pitcher
• This veteran DH target seems ideal for contending Padres roster
• Padres got steal with Xander Bogaerts after Carlos Correa’s mega-deal
• Failed Padres top prospect makes stunning return with minor league deal
• Padres fail to land ideal Xander Bogaerts teammate at catcher

For Padres fans though, they will also take an interest in seeing Venezuela play, as right-handed starter Jhoulys Chacin is competing for his home country. These reasons will be more than enough to motivate fans to come out to Petco this week and take in some world baseball action, especially since the forecast appears to be perfect.

The Dominican Republic is the slight favorite according to most coming in, but all four teams have a legitimate shot. So far in the event, Venezuela is 2-2 and the United States is 2-1, while both the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are undefeated at 3-0. The Dominican has already topped the U.S. by a final of 7-5, and Puerto Rico blanked Venezuela earlier in the classic 11-0.

Next: Flurry of Roster Moves Trim Roster to 54

Regardless of who comes out on top, fans are sure to have a spectacular time coming out to the park and cheering on the United States or just sitting back and enjoying some baseball. This is quite an opportunity for the city to host an event like this. Tickets are still on sale, and can be found here.