World Baseball Classic opener featured mixing of Guardians past and present 

Last night the World Baseball Classic officially kicked off via a Pool C matchup between Australia and Chinese Taipei in a matchup that featured plenty of players who should be familiar to Cleveland Guardians fans. 

On one side, former Guardians infielder Yu Chang, former Guardians prospect Kungkuan Giljegiljaw and current Guardians outfielder Stuart Fairchild were in the Chinese Taipei lineup. And on the other side there was Guardians infielder Travis Bazzana, who started at second base and hit leadoff for Team Australia. 

And those Guardians connections were on full display in Australia's 3-0 win, as Chang and Fairchild recorded seven at-bats for Chinese Taipei while Bazzana mashed an opposite field solo home run in the seventh inning. 

This year’s WBC opener featured plenty of Guardians connections

Bazzana’s blast was the clear highlight of the game thanks to the fact it extended Team Australia's lead (and he was the biggest name playing in the game). 

It came on the exact kind of swing that Guardians fans have been dying to see from him, as he caught up to a 94 mile per hour fastball on the inside corner and sent it 383 feet out to right field. 

Although Bazzana’s known for his hit tool, the blast showcased the kind of power that he’s developed over the past eight months. 

Meanwhile, Chang led the way for Cleveland’s Chinese Taipei contingent by going 1-for-4 while also via an error in the ninth inning. 

It looked like Chang reaching by error could end up being a key moment since Giljegiljaw followed it up with a single of his own, but Team Australia pitcher Jon Kennedy was able to lock in and pick up the save. 

Australia’s win puts them in the driver's seat in Pool C, which also includes Korea, Czechia and Japan. The top two teams from the pool will advance to the quarterfinals in Miami.

Japan won the tournament three years ago and boasts a stacked roster led by Shohei Ohtani, so they’re pretty much a lock to advance to the quarterfinals. That leaves four teams fighting for one spot, so any win in a non-Japan matchup is huge. 

Although the sheer number of Guardians connections in the game should be enough to put a smile on any Cleveland fan’s face, seeing those players have such a huge role in a game that was played on the other side of the world is a fun little tidbit. 

And it gets even better when you consider that the top prospect in the Guardians’ system needed all of one game to author a signature moment for his home county. 

Even though some scouts have some questions about whether or not Bazzana will be able to live up to the hype of being the No. 1 pick, he’s made it clear that he’s never scared of the moment. 

Thursday night was another example of that.