As I write this, I am watching the Great Britain baseball team take on Brazil in the World Baseball Classic. While both sides have been eliminated, there’s still something to play for here: the winning country will automatically be entered the next WBC, without having to go through the qualification tournament. So this is definitely a significant game. Right now, it’s proving a tense affair, with the game scoreless through four innings. Fingers crossed the British team can avoid the late-inning meltdowns
which have been a bit of a feature in their previous three games. Meanwhile, on the domestic front, here’s the D-backs line-up this afternoon.
We will see how deep Zac Gallen goes this time. After him, potential pitchers are: RHP Hayden Durke, RHP Taylor Clarke, RHP Gerardo Carrillo, RHP Andrew Hoffmann, RHP Juan Burgos and RHP Grant Holman. Hoffmann has been one of the spring standouts so far, with five strikeouts over three innings of one-hit ball. Also, be interesting to see whether Burgos can sustain his streak: all seven outs he has recorded so far have been by way of the K. He leads the team in that department. Unfortunately, over those 2.1 innings, there have been six hits and two walks as well.
No scheduled broadcast for this one, so see you in Gameday, providing GB vs. Brazil has finished! And as I write, the southern hemisphere has just taken the lead… [Update Britain roared back to win. D-backs prospect Wallace Clark walked twice and scored a run. See you again in 2029, WBC!]
