BARCELONA, Spain — Germany leads Spain 1-0 in the third inning of the second game of the Premier12 Barcelona Qualifier.

Yannic Walther, a Brewers catching prospect, homered off Elián Leyva in the first.

The winner joins Italy at 1-0. Italy beat Colombia 4-3 in Friday’s opener.

How to watch

Germany vs. Spain, Premier12 Barcelona Qualifier
Friday, Oct. 9, 19:00 local / 1 p.m. ET
Camp Municipal de Beisbol Carlos Pérez de Rozas, Barcelona

Free on the WBSC YouTube channel outside Spain and Italy.
DAZN carries it for subscribers in Spain and internationally, except in Italy.
Viva Nicaragua carries the tournament in Nicaragua.
Also on GameTime, the WBSC’s subscription platform, with a tournament pass at $14.99.

Tyler Maun and Sam Dykstra of MLB Pipeline have the English-language call.

Lineups

Germany: Tristan Russell 2B, Yannic Walther DH, Billy Germaine 3B, Simon Bäumer 1B, Finn Bergmann RF, Eric Brenk SS, Sacasa LF, Maurice Bendrien C, Darrion Richards CF.

Spain: Frank Hernández CF, Luis Guillorme 2B, Edison Valerio SS, Omar Hernández C, Félix Stevens RF, Rusber Estrada DH, Wander Encarnación 3B, Jesús Ustariz 1B, Andrés Angulo LF.

Elier Hernández is on the bench. Maurice Bendrien catches for Germany with Walther at designated hitter.

The starters

Elián Leyva starts for Spain. The 37-year-old Cuban-born right-hander reached Triple-A with Atlanta and has pitched in Cuba, Mexico, Italy, Taiwan and the Dominican Republic.

Markus Solbach starts for Germany. The 35-year-old reached Triple-A in 2021 and 2022 and came close to becoming the first pitcher born and raised in Germany to reach the majors. He threw 14 scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts at last year’s European Championship and had a 2.25 ERA in 56 innings for the Bonn Capitals this season.

Spain catcher and captain Omar Hernández in the team’s white and red uniform, posed on a terrace with the Barcelona skyline behind him at sunset.
Spain captain Omar Hernández poses for a portrait above Barcelona ahead of the WBSC Premier12 2027 Barcelona Qualifier, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. — (WBSC)

Spain

World No. 26, the host, and chasing a first Premier12 appearance.

Marvin Benard manages. Adam Jones, the five-time All-Star who moved to Barcelona several years ago, is with the staff.

Omar Hernández is the captain, a Cuban-born catcher developed in Spain and now in the Kansas City system. At the 2023 European Championship he posted a 1.397 OPS and led Spain to its first European title in 68 years.

Luis Guillorme is the most familiar name to American readers. Wander Encarnación was the 2023 European Championship MVP. Félix Stevens, a former Cubs prospect, put up a 20-20 season in 84 games in the Frontier League this year.

Pablo Guillén won the 2023 European Championship final and threw six shutout innings at the 2025 World Baseball Classic qualifier.

Marc Civit and Junior Bonilla are the Barcelona-born arms on the staff.

Spain beat France in a warm-up series this week. Twelve players from the 2025 qualifier roster are on the team, along with 19 from the European Championship squad.

Germany infielder and captain Eric Brenk in the team’s Deutschland uniform, posed on a terrace with the Barcelona skyline behind him at sunset.
Germany captain Eric Brenk (30) poses for a portrait above Barcelona ahead of the WBSC Premier12 2027 Barcelona Qualifier, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. — (WBSC)

Germany

World No. 17, and the only team in the field that has never played a Premier12 or a World Baseball Classic.

Jendrick Speer manages. He made his international debut at 16 in 1997 and played for the Untouchables Paderborn through five straight German pennants.

Eric Brenk is the captain, back at third base. Yannic Walther is the only active German minor leaguer on the roster, a 22-year-old catcher in the Milwaukee system who reached High-A this season.

Billy Germaine, a Canadian-born catcher and infielder, led the German league with 14 home runs.

Niklas Rimmel threw 124 2/3 innings between the regular season and playoffs, second in the German league, and led it with a 1.80 ERA.

Germany swept Czechia in a three-game warm-up series. It finished fifth at last year’s European Championship and third at the 2025 World Baseball Classic qualifier in Tucson, losing to Brazil in the second-place game.

What’s at stake

The top two of four teams advance to the 2027 Premier12, which awards two places in the 2028 Olympic tournament at Dodger Stadium — one to the highest-placed Asian team, one to the highest-placed team from Europe or Oceania.

Three of the six Olympic spots are filled: the United States as host, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic through the World Baseball Classic.

Full tournament guide here.

Friday’s first game

Italy beat Colombia 4-3, scoring three in the eighth. Gabriele Angioi doubled home the go-ahead run with two outs. Claudio Scotti got the save.

Full recap here.

The rest of the weekend

Germany vs. Colombia — Saturday, 6 a.m. ET
Spain vs. Italy — Saturday, 1 p.m. ET
Italy vs. Germany — Sunday, 6 a.m. ET
Spain vs. Colombia — Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

All six games stream free on the WBSC YouTube channel outside Spain and Italy.

World Baseball Network is in Barcelona all weekend.