I’m not sure why Ronald Acuña Jr. felt he had to activate beast mode to basically single-handedly destroy Nicaragua, who already had the most heartbreaking story of the tournament, but he did. The victory had Venezuela join four other teams as still undefeated in the tournament, and sets up an exciting Venezuela-D.R. matchup to determine the top of Pool D.
If you’re only here to read about the Braves, well:
- Ronald Acuña Jr.: 3-for-3, BB, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB
- Nacho Alvarez Jr.: 0-for-3
Korea 7, Australia 2. I don’t make the rules, but apparently this game gave Korea all the tiebreaker
advantages to move on to the quarterfinals, despite leaving both teams with a 2-2 record. The game itself wasn’t close, as Bo Gyeong Moon (who is having a truly insane tournament performance so far) hit a two-run homer in the second, doubled in a run in the third, and then singled another run home in the fifth. Korea fully bullpened it pitching-wise, and scattered 11 baserunners while allowing just two runs (one on a homer), while Australia hit into three double plays to sink their hopes of advancing.
Dominican Republic 10, Israel 1. The D.R. juggernaut cannot be stopped. This time, it was a five-run second courtesy of a walked-in run and then a grand slam by Fernando Tatis Jr. Oneil Cruz later added a homer, but it was all just tack-on as Brayan Bello fired five frames with a 7/0 K/BB ratio and the big league quality bullpen also dominated Israel’s bats.
Colombia 4, Panama 3. Panama couldn’t keep it going after beating Canada yesterday, falling to a four-run frame. Paolo Espino had a nice outing for Panama (4 1/3 IP, 4/1 K/BB ratio) in what was apparently his final outing before retirement, only for the guys relieving him to implode and yield a four-run rally on some hit-by-pitches, walks, grounders through the infield, and a soft bloop. Panama got a Jose Caballero homer and then a multi-single rally in the eighth that put the tying run on third with two outs, but couldn’t push it across.
Great Britain 8, Brazil 1. Another day, another hammering of Brazil pitching. Actually, starter Enzo Samayama was fine, but Great Britain scored eight runs in four frames off the relief corps, as the Brazilian bullpen put together a 3/8 K/BB ratio, somehow. Meanwhile, Tristan Beck and company carved up the Brazilian bats.
Puerto Rico 4, Cuba 1. In a battle of 2-0 teams, the Puerto Rican squad emerged victorious in their home park. Team captain Martin Maldonado hit a groundball double down the left-field line with the bases packed and that was really all that was needed. The game featured very little otherwise, as the pitching staffs roughed up the opposing bats, working around walks (12 combined in the game) by striking out a bunch of guys (19 combined). Only four half-innings after the second featured more than one baserunner.
Venezuela 4, Nicaragua 0. As noted, Ronald Acuña Jr. turned this into his own personal highlight reel, assisted by the Venezuelan pitchers that hurled a shutout with a 9/1 K/BB ratio. He drew a leadoff walk, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error, and then scored on a sac fly. He then crushed an opposite-field homer in the third, and mashed a two-out single to plate another in the fifth. Amazingly, Venezuela added their final run without him involved (and he added a soft single later). Nicaragua had a few rallies, but one was upended by a runner trying to score from second on an infield single — they also suffered the indignity of having a baserunner struck by a batted ball for an out. Poor Nicaragua.
USA 5, Mexico 3. This was a bit of a bizarre game, in that it seemed like it was going to be another rout, but then actually morphed into a close one. Paul Skenes dominated for four frames (7/1 K/BB ratio), while former Brave Jesus Cruz (remember him? it was only 2022…) gave up dingers to both Aaron Judge and Roman Anthony to give Team USA a five-spot early. We’ve seen a lot of early 5-0 games become blowouts, but Mexico’s other relievers held the line really well, with an 8/4 K/BB ratio, while the defense helped ensure that USA’s bats collected only two more hits the rest of the way. Mexico had a small rally against Matthew Boyd in the sixth, with a Jarren Duran homer and then three straight singles with two outs, but Nacho Alvarez Jr.‘s lineout cut it short. Duran homered again off Boyd in the eighth, but Griffin Jax and Garrett Whitlock… locked?… it down from there. Mexico had the tying run at the plate after Duran’s homer (Boyd hit a batter before departing) but Jax elicited a double play ball; Joey Meneses had a leadoff single in the ninth, but Whitlock got two strikeouts and a groundout to end it.
There are only four games on tap for Tuesday. Somehow, Czechia and Japan are still in a scoreless tie right now. Canada plays Puerto Rico, and they can cause ripples in Pool A if they manage a win. Team USA plays Italy in a battle of still-undefeated teams.
