Canada keeps WBC hopes alive with shutout win over Colombia

Canada kept its hopes alive in the World Baseball Classic by beating Colombia 5-0 in pool play Tuesday at Chase Field.

The decisive run came off the bat of catcher Bo Naylor, who cashed in Tyler O'Neill from third on a fourth-inning single. Canada never looked back after that, tacking on a couple of insurance runs, including a key ninth-inning three-run homer off the bat of Otto Lopez.

Canada improved to 2-1 and moved into a tie atop Pool C with Team USA. Colombia is now 1-2, tied with Great Britain in last place.

Canada will face Mexico (1-1) on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET with a chance to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time.

Noah Skirrow earned the win with a strong start, allowing two hits and one walk with five strikeouts over five shutout innings. He's the first starter for Canada to make it through the first inning. Curtis Taylor, Trevor Brigden, and Scott Mathieson combined to work the final four frames, allowing three hits the rest of the way to complete the shutout.