World Baseball Classic: United States Defeat Japan, Advance to Championship Game
By Keaton Moore
Battling rain and a threatening Japanese lineup, Team USA came out of the semifinals on top to advance to their first-ever World Baseball Classic championship game.
The Americans shortened Japan’s visit to the United States with a 2-1 victory in the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic at Dodger Stadium. It only took a one-run lead to defeat Japan and move Team USA to the championship round.
In his first start of the tournament, Tanner Roark washed away the memory of his rough WBC debut, where he allowed three runs to the Dominican Republic on March 11. He held Japan to just two hits and one walk through four innings.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Likewise, Tomoyuki Sugano kept the United States to three hits and one run while striking out six through his six-inning start. He retired the first six Americans in order before Buster Posey reached base on a single to leadoff the third.
Although the United States were unable to bring home Posey, Andrew McCutchen drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single in the fourth. He scored Christian Yelich, who reached second base on a fielding error.
The American’s lead lasted until Ryosuke Kikuchi hit a game-tying home run off of Nate Jones in the sixth. However, Adam Jones quickly regained the lead for the United States with an RBI groundout in the eighth that scored the eventual game-winning run.
Next: WBC 2017-Who Are The Netherlands?
With their 4-3 victory over the Netherlands, Puerto Rico awaits the United States in the championship game to decide which country will take it all. Their meeting is set for Wednesday, March 22 at 6:00 p.m. Puerto Rico is undefeated in the tournament and previously beat the U.S. team 6-5 on Friday. Up until their one-run win on Monday night over the Netherlands, the margin of victory over the U.S. was the smallest that the Puerto Ricans had enjoyed in this WBC. Team USA will attempt to hand them their first loss, while Puerto Rico will look to finish out a perfect tourney en route to WBC glory.