Phillies stars dominating in World Baseball Classic as season nears

Phillies shortstop Trea Turner is slashing .273/.333/.545 through three games so far in the World Baseball Classic.

After a week of madness, the World Baseball Classic pool stage recently closed. Multiple Philadelphia Phillies players showcased their talents on the big stage while helping their respective countries advance to the quarterfinals. Let's take a look at how each player did.

In Pool C, USA and Mexico advanced. While Team USA was the talk of the pool coming in, Mexico stole the show.

After losing their first game to Colombia, Mexico bounced back with a dominant win against the United States. Then in a pivotal third game against Great Britain, new Phillies starter Taijuan Walker stepped up.

Walker dominated the Great Britain lineup. He gave up zero runs on one hit through four innings, before reaching the pool play pitch limit of 65. Sporting his home country's alternate jersey, Walker struck out an impressive eight of his 14 batters faced, while allowing just one walk.

Mexico's bats were slowed throughout the game and only scored one run through its first six innings. Walker and the Mexico bullpen shut out Great Britain until the sixth inning when they gave up an RBI single. Mexico then answered the following inning with an RBI single of their own, taking the lead and never looking back.

Mexico then beat Canada the following day to advance to the quarterfinals. They defeated Puerto Rico on Friday, 5-4, setting them up for a semifinals matchup against Japan. Walker's performance so far has been encouraging for Phillies fans.