Watch the Dominican Republic vs. Italy online at 1 p.m. ET as both countries set off the 2013 World Baseball Classic second round on Tuesday afternoon.
It will be a meeting that will feature MLB talent versus practically new faces to the major league fans. The Dominican Republic is the favorite, without a doubt, in this matchup. They feature a heavily talented lineup, while the Italians have a ton of fresh faces.
The Dominicans cruised through the first round of competition having defeated everybody in Pool C. They are focused, playing together, but more importantly, having fun. Whenever a great play is made, they celebrate in the dugouts becoming each other's cheerleaders.
As for the Italians, they surprised Mexico and took advantage of all their errors. Then they defeated Canada in a surprising 14-4 victory and found themselves in the second round almost immediately.
Their only loss came to a desperate U.S. team that needed a victory to keep their hopes of the second round alive, but even then, that game was pretty close as Team USA won only because of David Wright's grand slam.
Edison Volquez will hit the mound for the Dominicans while Italy will place Tiago da Silva on the mound. Both pitchers had successful outings earlier in the WBC, it will be interesting to see how they fair against each other.
It's the Dominican Republic vs. Italy in the 2013 WBC. Click here to watch the action live and for free.
