The Australian baseball team started its World Baseball Classic (WBC) journey on the right foot, defeating Chinese Taipei 3-0 at the Tokyo Dome in the first game of the tournament on Wednesday night.
Australia now leads Pool C with a 1-0 record and will play again later on Thursday, against Czechia.
Wednesday’s affair was a team effort based on pitching brilliance, with three pitchers contributing three scoreless innings each to beat Chinese Taipei: Alex Wells, Jack O’Loughlin, and Jon Kennedy.
Still, one name stood above the rest in the box score: Cleveland Guardians second baseman Travis Bazzana.
With the game 2-0 in the seventh inning, the No. 1 pick of the 2024 MLB Draft launched one over the fence for a home run.
“BAZZANA BOMBS HAVE MADE IT TO THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC. His solo homer gives Team Australia some insurance!” GuardsInsider posted on X.
BAZZANA BOMBS HAVE MADE IT TO THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC💥
His solo homer gives Team Australia some insurance! pic.twitter.com/VxYgnFxTFp
— GuardsInsider (@GuardsInsider) March 5, 2026
The long drive gave his team a 3-0 lead and would represent the last run scored in the game.
Bazzana went 2-for-4 in the late-night affair, scoring once and driving in one run.
Australia is not exactly one of the favorites to make it far in the tournament, but as long as they have Bazzana at the top of the lineup, anything can happen.
The Guardians’ future star was having a solid spring before departing to join his Australian teammates, slashing .250/.333/.625 with a dinger, four RBI, and a 134 wRC+ in three games.
He was also magnificent last year across three levels, including Double-A and Triple-A.
He put up a 137 wRC+ with nine home runs, 12 stolen bases, and a healthy 17.6 percent walk rate in 374 trips to the plate.
While making the Guardians’ Opening Day roster seems unlikely, we should see him up by May or June, as Tim Stebbins recently suggested.
Bazzana is just too good to be kept out of the majors for much longer, as the entire world is starting to see in part thanks to Wednesday’s WBC performance.
He represents the future of the Guardians, and that future can and should start this year.
Bazzana has All-Star potential and projects as a top-of-the-lineup dynamo in Cleveland.
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