Japan looks to become a three-time champion at the World Baseball Classic. (USA Today)

After the Dominican Republic's 2-0 victory over Puerto Rico this afternoon at Marlins Ballpark in Miami, we can now officially set up the semifinal matchups in the 2013 World Baseball Classic that will take place at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

They are as follows.

Sunday
Semifinal 1 — Puerto Rico at Japan, 9:00 p.m. ET

This will be another quick turnaround for Puerto Rico, who played on Saturday just 14 hours after eliminating Team USA from the tournament. Now they must fly across the country to San Francisco for Sunday's game with little rest and one large challenge ahead of them.

[Also: Uninspired U.S. ousted from World Baseball Classic. Does anyone care?]

On the other side, Japan will be playing their first competitive game since Tuesday’s victory over the Netherlands, though they have spent the past two days in Arizona working out the jetlag and any rust that may have settled in. They’re the two-time defending champions coming, so they’ll rightfully be viewed as the heavy favorites to advance to the championship game.

(Getty Images)

PHOENIX — Look at that picture. That's a home-run follow-through. One to marvel at.

A split-second earlier, Yasiel Puig pulverized a pitch — hitting a line drive homer to right-center field that even Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly was amazed at.

"Pretty legit," he called it.

Puig — the Cuban defector, who signed a seven-year, $42 million deal with the Dodgers last July — was 3-for-3 on Friday night, the home run included. All of 'em were bullets, Mattingly said. It further added to a spring in which Puig has punished opposing pitchers. He's now hitting .459.

"I don't think I've seen anybody do something like this. I've seen guys have good springs, but not with that kind of energy," Mattingly said. "This is a Bo Jackson-type package that you just don't see."

Brett and Bruce Bochy at Giants camp. (AP)Nobody was expecting Bruce Bochy's son Brett to crack the San Francisco Giants opening day roster this year. In fact, at 25 years old, he may be a long shot to ever get that call since he's not really regarded as a top prospect and he's yet to discard the durability questions that have surrounded him since he was drafted in 2010.

Still, it can't be all that good a feeling when the official word comes down that your dream to big pitch in the big leagues won't be happening as soon as you'd hoped. And it has to be an extra awkward feeling when the person informing you that you've fallen short is your own father.

That was the unfortunate case for the younger Bochy on Thursday night, though his father did take a different route to informing him than he would for any of his other players.anAccording to Andrew Baggarly of Comcast Sports Net San Francisco, he actually did it in a face-to-face meeting over dinner, which may or may not have added to the awkwardness, but it certainly didn't take away from the disappointment.

“He was disappointed I didn’t bring him in (the office) to cut him,” the manager said, smiling. “Maybe I’ll do it tomorrow to make him feel better.”

I'm sure hearing the message one time will be plenty, but one can certainly understand why young Brett would want to learn his fate in the same manner as his teammates. It's difficult enough being the son of a coach or manager in any environment. I can only imagine how it would feel in a major league clubhouse, and being treated differently in any way can only make that feeling more awkward.