The waiting is over!
The 2026 World Baseball Classic starts tonight (or today, for those of you reading this in Asia) when Chinese Taipei faces Australia at the Tokyo Dome in the first game of Pool C play, with Jo Hsi-Hsu starting for Chinese Taipei against Alex Wells for Australia.
The second day of exhibition games featuring the 15 World Baseball Classic teams assigned to Pools A, B, and D starts at 1:05 p.m. this afternoon at spring training sites across Florida and Arizona.
Aaron Nola will get a final start for the Philadelphia Phillies against before joining Italy for pool play at 1:05 p.m. EST, with five other games starting at the same time. Nicaragua will face Matthew Liberatore and the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter, Florida at Roger Dean Stadium, The Netherlands will face the Tampa Bay Rays and Jake Woodford at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Florida, Panama will face a split-squad Detroit Tigers lineup at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, Puerto Rico will face Zebby Matthews and the Minnesota Twins in Lee County, Florida, and Colombia will face the Atlanta Braves and starter Elieser Hernandez at CoolToday Park to round out the 1:05 p.m. starts.
At 1:10 p.m., Israel will face David Peterson and the New York Mets at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
At 2:05 p.m., a split-squad Detroit Tigers lineup will face the Dominican Republic at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
The Cactus League games start at 3:05 p.m. Eastern, with Brazil getting to face Jacob deGrom and the Texas Rangers in Surprise, Arizona. Mexico will face Tyler Glasnow and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch and Cuba will face the Cincinnati Reds at Goodyear Ballpark.
At 3:10 p.m. EST, Italy will face Mitch Farris and the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, the United States will face Kyle Freeland and the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Arizona,, and Great Britain will face Joe Musgrove and the San Diego Padres at Peoria Stadium in Peoria, Arizona.
The final exhibition game prior to the World Baseball Classic pits Venezuela against the Washington Nationals at Cacti Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach at 6:10 p.m. EST.
March 4 World Baseball Classic Schedule
All times Eastern Standard Time
Select games streaming on MLB.tv
1:05 p.m. – Canada (TBD) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (Aaron Nola) – BayCare Ballpark – Clearwater, Florida
1:05 p.m. – Nicaragua (TBD) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (Matthew Liberatore) – Roger Dean Stadium – Jupiter, Florida
1:05 p.m. – Netherlands (TBD) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (Jake Woodford) – Charlotte Sports Park – Port Charlotte, Florida
1:05 p.m. – Panama (TBD) vs. Detroit Tigers (Jake Woodford) – Joker Marchant Stadium – Lakeland, Florida
1:05 p.m. – Puerto Rico (TBD) vs. Minnesota Twins – Hammond Stadium – Lee County, Florida
1:05 p.m. – Colombia (TBD) vs. Atlanta Braves (Elieser Hernandez) – CoolToday Park – North Port, Florida
1:10 p.m. – Israel (TBD) vs. New York Mets (David Peterson) – Clover Park – Port St. Lucie, Florida
2:05 p.m. – Dominican Republic (TBD) vs. Detroit Tigers (Burch Smith) – Estadio Quisqueya – Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
3:05 p.m. – Brazil (TBD) vs. Texas Rangers (Jacob deGrom) – Surprise Stadium – Surprise, Arizona
3:05 p.m. – Mexico (TBD) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (Tyler Glasnow) – Camelback Ranch – Glendale, Arizona
3:05 p.m. – Cuba (TBD) vs. Cincinnati Reds (TBD) – Goodyear Ballpark – Goodyear, Arizona
3:10 p.m. – Italy (TBD) vs. Los Angeles Angels (Mitch Farris) – Tempe Diablo Stadium – Tempe, Arizona
3:10 p.m. – United States (TBD) vs. Colorado Rockies (Kyle Freeland) – Salt River Fields – Scottsdale, Arizona
3:10 p.m. – Great Britain (TBD) vs. San Diego Padres (Joe Musgrove) – Peoria Stadium – Peoria, Arizona
6:05 p.m. – Venezuela (TBD) vs. Washington Nationals (Foster Griffin) – Cacti Park of the Palm Beaches – West Palm Beach, Florida
10:05 p.m. – Chinese Taipei (Jo Hsi-Hsu) vs. Australia (Alex Wells) – Pool C – Tokyo Dome – TV: FS1
Photo: The Tokyo Dome will host Pool C play in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. (Photo by Leif Skodnick/World Baseball Network)
