The World Baseball Classic ramped up into their pool play schedule yesterday, so let’s do a quick recap of what happened.
Japan 13, Chinese Taipei 0 (7 innings)
Listen, we’re all here for the Shohei Ohtani show in the WBC, so of course Shohei Ohtani crushed a grand slam in the second inning.
That was basically all she wrote for the game. I’m not sure if anyone in this pool can win a game against Samurai Japan.
Cuba 3, Panama 1
In a game that had some good pitching in it, Cuba was led by home runs from Yoelkis Guibert and Yoan Moncada to secure the victory over the Panamanian squad. I thought for sure that this was going to go Panama’s way considering the roster differences, but Cuba does just know how to win on an international stage.
Venezuela 6, Netherlands 2
Led by former Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez, the Venezuelans picked up a pretty important win for them in a pool that has several teams that have a shot at moving on to the knockout stage. Suarez was good in only two innings of work, but it was the lineup that is pretty deep that did some damage. Luis Arraez picked up two RBI on a single and bases loaded walk while Willson Contreras delivered the big blow with a two-run single that basically ended the game.
Mexico 8, Great Britain 2
This was a fairly close game going into the eighth inning, where it was tied at one. That was until the pitching depth that the English lack showed when they surrendered seven runs in the final two innings to seal the deal. Gary Gill Hill, Tristan Beck and Graham Spraker – all affiliated with MLB clubs – just could not keep Mexico’s offense down for the entirety of the game.
Puerto Rico 5, Colombia 0
A game that showed the interesting pitching limits the WBC is played under, Puerto Rico rode a big fifth inning to take a game in their home stadium in San Juan.
Colombia had Jose Quintana on the mound to begin the game and he was very effective for three innings. However, he was removed after only 30 pitches, where the pitcher who succeeded him, Adrian Almeida, was charged with five runs allowed in that fifth inning that doomed Colombia. Why they pulled Quintana could have had something to do with his now being available after a single day’s rest, but that’s still a strange move to make that ended up costing them.
Dominican Republic 12, Nicaragua 3
You know, I watched a lot of this game next to the United States one (thank you, YouTube TV). I really thought Nicaragua was going to pull this one off once they had a lead and at least a share of a tie through five innings. But as we watched, I told my son, “it’s going to come down to pitching and Nicaragua just doesn’t have the octane to beat DR, I don’t think.”
Then Junior Caminero came up and hit a baseball that went about 200 miles per hour and about 20 feet off the ground for a backbreaker.
This Dominican team might be legit.
United States 15, Brazil 5
This shouldn’t have been this close.
Seventeen walks allowed by Brazil, to be expected of course, was just too much to overcome. Aaron Judge hit a titanic shot in the first inning to give the U.S. a lead they never gave back.
However, this game was 8-5 going into the ninth inning. That simply can’t happen if the U.S. wants to win anything in this tournament. Better clean it up.
Hey, Manny Ramirez’s kid hit two home runs. And Jose Contreras’ kid, a 17 year old kid still in high school, got Judge to ground into a double play. We’re all officially old!
Chinese Taipei 14, Czechia 0 (7 innings)
Taipei gets on the board with a win here, using a grand slam from Stuart Fairchild to power them to a mercy rule victory. I think the Czechia story is officially over.
How did the Phillies do?
Edmundo Sosa: 1-4, single
Bryce Harper: 1-5, single, R, RBI, walk, strikeout
Kyle Schwarber: 2-4, two singles, 2 R, 2 walks
