var dataHash = { blurb: 'Mexico is an extreme long shot to advance to the Classic semifinals, but the team is still pumped for its matchup against the United States on Thursday. "We\'re going to continue with this and try as hard as we can," said Mexico manager Paquin Estrada.', source: 'MLB.com', date: '2006-03-14T22:48:00-0500', byline: 'Mychael Urban', top_story_links: null, body: 'ANAHEIM -- Team Mexico gets its first look at future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens of the United States on Thursday evening at Angel Stadium.

Classic scenarios
U.S. advances to semifinals with:
• A win over Mexico
• A tie with Mexico
• A 1-0 loss to Mexico
• A 2-0 or 2-1 loss to Mexico, with the United States having played 8 2/3 innings or more on defense
• A 3-1 or 3-2 loss to Mexico, with the United States having played 12 1/3 innings or more on defense
Japan advances to semifinals with:
• A Mexico win over the United States by a score of 2-0 or 2-1, at any point before a second out is recorded in the bottom of the ninth inning
• A Mexico win over the United States, in which Mexico scores three or more runs in a game ending at any point before a third out is recorded in the bottom of the 12th inning
• A Mexico win over the United States, in which Mexico scores three or more runs and the United States scores one or more runs in a game ending at any point before an out is recorded in the bottom of the 13th inning
• A Mexico win over the United States, in which Mexico scores 4 or more runs and the United States scores 1 or more runs in a game ending at any point
Mexico advances to semifinals with:
• A 3-0 or 4-0 win over the United States, with Mexico having played 13 innings or more on defense

For Mexico (0-2), which lost its Round 2 opener to Korea on Sunday and fell to Japan on Tuesday, this is likely to be the final game of the World Baseball Classic. In order to advance to the semifinals in San Diego, it needs a minor miracle.

Mexico would need to defeat the United States, 3-0, in 13 innings to gain an edge over Japan (1-2) and USA (1-1) in the first tiebreaker, which is determined by the total runs allowed divided by innings played on defense.

"We\'re going to continue with this and try as hard as we can," said Mexico manager Paquin Estrada. "Mexico is going to try to finish as well as we can."

The starting pitcher for Mexico will be lefty Oliver Perez, who walked three but struck out the side in his only appearance in the Classic thus far. Perez, 24, was limited by injuries to 20 starts with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2005, but ranked fourth in the National League with 239 strikeouts and posted a 2.98 ERA in 2004, his first full season in the big leagues.

"He\'s got an incredible arm," Team Mexico reliever Ricardo Rincon said of Perez. "When he\'s going good, he can beat anybody."

Team USA, 2-0 winners over Mexico in the first round of the Classic, enters Thursday\'s game with a 1-1 record in the second round. Clemens, who gave up one hit while striking out six over 4 1/3 innings of a first-round win against South Africa, has not yet decided if he will return to the big leagues for his 23rd season.

On Tuesday against Japan, Team Mexico was held to three hits in a 6-1 loss. Since scoring 19 runs in their final two games of the first round, the Mexicans have totaled two runs on eight hits.

"We have to hit, it\'s that simple," said Team Mexico captain Vinny Castilla. "Everyone on this team knows how to hit. We just have to go out and do it."

"Our pitching has been excellent," added Estrada. "But scoring runs is what matters the most for us right now."', tagline: 'Mychael Urban is a national writer for MLB.com.', summary: null, article_photo: null, sub_headline: null, alt_headline: null, related_links: null, headline: 'Mexico faces Clemens, Team USA' }