The United States Baseball Team has had a frenzy in the three games of the WBC. Despite the issues in an underwhelming starting rotation, the US has won enough to control their destiny in Pool C of the World Baseball Classic.
United States 3 Game Frenzy In The World Baseball Classic
Game 1: Great Britain
Looking at Great Britain’s roster at a glance, it’s fair to say that it would be a one-sided affair with the United States using the Great Britain pitchers as batting practice. That was not the case.
Great Britain’s Trayce Thompson took the Adam Wainwright curve ball to deep left field to provide exquisite Britain the early lead. Wainwright would possibly have bent, but he didn’t destroy. He hung on long enough, thankfully. The United States offense showed up in the middle innings, putting the game out of reach. Kyle Schwarber’s three-run home run topped this off and gave the US a 5-1 lead. The game ended in a 6-1 US victory.
The game showed the US at least vulnerable on the pitching side, which could lead to issues if they rely on the offense to do all the work.
Game 2: Mexico
The United States and Mexico have a rivalry as old as time. This rivalry even crosses many sports, mainly soccer. However, in the inaugural World Baseball Classic, Mexico ended the United States’ run to a title that year.
The United States’ weak spot showed in game two. Mexico came out swinging. Randy Arozarena hit a double followed by a Joey Meneses’ line-drive homer to center field to give Mexico the early lead.
A few innings later, Joey Meneses hit a three-run home run off of Brady Singer. This gave him five RBIs on the night, leading the way for this eventual 11-5 route. The United States starter Nick Martinez only went 2.2 innings to stop the run that Mexico was on, and US Manager Mark DeRosa went to Brady Singer. Singer went two innings and gave up four runs.
Game 3: Canada
What a difference a day makes; the United States exploded for nine runs in the first inning. The Canadian starter, 19-year-old Mitch Bratt, only recorded a single out, allowing three walks and six earned runs.
The United States offense as a whole hit for the cycle in a single inning twice. Some top performers from the game were Mike Trout had a homerun with three RBIs in this game. Tim Anderson was also 2-3 with a triple, two runs, and a stolen base.
The best part of this game was, in fact, Lance Lynn. After the game against Mexico, the United States needed a pitcher to dominate. Lace Lynn went five full innings with six strikeouts. Miles Mikolas came in to finish the game with two solid innings. The cherry on top of this was the game was called in the seventh inning due to a mercy rule. The game ended with a final score of 12-1 in favor of the United States.
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Game 4: Colombia
The final game for the United States in Pool C is against Colombia. Merrill Kelly will be getting the ball against Colombia. We don’t know who will start for Colombia at the time of writing this.
Colombia will be looking to spoil the United States’ run. If the United were to win, they’d be on to Miami and face the runner-up from Pool D. Now, if the United were to lose to Colombia tonight, things could get interesting.
The easiest scenario is the United States winning; it’s a “win and they are in” game. Odds are they do win and jump onto a plane to Miami.
Main Image: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY
