World Baseball Classic Day 6: Team USA hits a speed bump vs. Mexico

World Baseball Classic: Australia 8, Czech Republic 3

In Tokyo, Australia wrapped up advancement to the quarterfinals by eliminating the Czechs in what amounted to a play-in game.

Australia finished 3-1 in Group B, one game behind the powerhouse Japanese hosts. Had the Aussies lost, the identity of the group runner-up would have been thrown to the WBC’s intricate tie-breaking system, with the Czechs and Korea also in play.

That wasn’t necessary because Australia broke open a 1-1 tie with seven runs in the game’s final three innings. It marks the first time in WBC history that Australia survived the Group stage play.

Monday’s game was closer than the final score suggests. Australia broke on top when the game’s second batter, Alex Hall, homered, but the Czechs tied it on Eric Sogard’s third inning run-producing hit, and that’s where things stood into the seventh.

That’s when Marek Minarik, the second Czech pitcher and a former U.S. farm system product, could not contain the Australia offense. A single and walk set the stage for Logan Wade, whose double high off the right field wall brought both runners home.

Hall added two more runs with a double of his own in the eighth. In the ninth, reliever Jon Kennedy squelched a final Czech threat by inducing a game-ending double play off the bat of Jakob Kubica.

World Baseball Classic: Israel 3, Nicaragua 1

Garrett Stubbs delivered a  clutch ground rule double and four Team Israel pitchers stifled Nicaragua on four hits in Miami.

Stubbs’ double came with two out in the eighth inning and scored two runners to break a 1-1 tie. It capped a three-run inning for Israel.

His drive, off Yankees reliever Jonathan Loaisiga, came with the bases loaded. Through the first seven innings, four Nicaragua pitchers had shut out Israel on just four hits.

With one out in that eighth inning, Loaisiga allowed a base hit to Alex Dickerson and then hit Ryan Lavarnway with a pitch. Spencer Horwitz lined a single to left, scoring Dickerson, and an intentional walk to Noah Mendlinger loaded the bases, setting up a force at home.

The Nicaraguans thought Loaisiga had escaped the jam when he got Michael Wielansky to ground back to the pitcher. Loaisiga’s throw home forced Lavarnway, but the runner’s slide into home undercut Nicaraguan catcher Melvin Novoa, preventing a potential double play.

The Nicaraguans protested interference on Lavarnway, but umpires ruled his slide legal and refused to call the batter out at first. That set the stage for Stubbs’ heroics.

Orioles starter Dean Kremer pitched four shutout innings for Israel, allowing three hits. Nicaragua’s only run scored on Steve Leyton’s fifth inning, which brought across Sandy Bermudez, who had walked.

World Baseball Classic: Canada 18, Great Britain 8

Coming off their defeat at the hands of the U.S., the Brits were no match for a more experienced Canada lineup in a hit-first, ask-questions-later game.

Great Britain actually grabbed a quick 3-0 lead when Chavez Young walked, worked his way around the bases and stole home on the tail end of a double steal that sent Matt Koperniak to second. Koperniak scored on Nick Ward’s base hit, and Ward scored on Darnell Sweeney’s single.

That three-run lead lasted only a bit longer than it took Canada to get to the bat rack. Canada leadoff hitter Edouard Julien hit the first pitch he saw over the fence in right for a home run,  Freddie Freeman walked, and Tyler O’Neill singled. Three hits, two walks and an error later, the Canadians led 5-3.

Great Britain made it 5-4 when Trayce Thompson’s second inning single brought home Chavez Young. But Abraham Toro scored O’Neill, who had walked.

And that’s the way it went, the Canadians consistently trumping Great Britain’s offensive efforts. Great Britain scored once in the third; Canada scored four times. Great Britain scored in the fourth; Canada retaliated with six. That made it 16-8 by the game’s halfway point.

O’Neill had four hits and drove in four runs for Canada. Jacob Robson, a Tigers farmhand, also had four hits and scored four runs in the 17-hit Canada attack.

Toro and Cubs farmhand Owen Caissie each drove in three runs for Canada.

Seven Great Britain pitchers complicated their own efforts by issuing 16 free passes atop the 17-hit Canada attack. That’s 33 baserunners of 85 batters faced, a nifty .388 team on base percentage for Canada.

World Baseball Classic: Venezuela 9, Puerto Rico 6

With this victory, the Venezuelans grabbed a commanding advantage in Group D. Not only are they 2-0, but they have defeated both of their two most respected challengers, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Venezuela now can clinch advancement out of the group with one victory in their final two games. That could happen as early as Tuesday when they play winless Nicaragua in Miami.

The Venezuelans hit Puerto Rico with an early haymaker, scoring seven times before Puerto Rico got a second chance at hitting.

A game-opening error by Javier Baez on Jose Altuve’s grounder set the stage for Venezuela’s four-run first. Once the door was opened, Ronald Acuna walked, Salvador Perez singled Altuve home, and Anthony Santander homered everybody else across.

Altuve’s double opened the three-run second, which ended for Puerto Rico starter Jose Berrios one batter later when Luis Arraez singled. This time, it was Perez with the three-run home run.

Puerto Rico made a furtive run at getting back in the game with a four-run fifth aided and abetted by two walks issued by Andres Machado, but those four runs only brought Puerto Rico within 9-5.

Perez’ double and home  run were two of his four hits, and he drove in five runs, scoring three times. It was part of a 12-hit Venezuela attack against Berrios and seven relievers.

World Baseball Classic: Korea 22, China 2

In a game played with nothing but pride at stake, Korea took out its tournament frustrations on the outmanned Chinese in Tokyo. The game was halted after five innings by the mercy rule.

The Koreans, whose tournament hopes were undermined by early losses to Japan and Australia, took out all their frustrations on a half-dozen China pitchers, none of whom escaped unscathed. In fact, Korea scored at least twice in each of the abbreviated game’s five innings, running up 20 hits overall and supplementing that with 10 bases on balls.

The offensive stars for Korea were almost too numerous to mention. Let’s begin with outfielder Kenwoo Park, whose three hits included a grand slam that highlighted a six-run fourth. Park had five RBI for the afternoon.

Padres infielder Ha-Seong Kim matched Park’s grand slam with one of his own in the fifth. Hae-Min Park, Baekho Kang and Ji Young Lee each enjoyed three-hit games.

While Korea’s batters enjoyed their glorified workout, the pitchers contributed too. Three Korean arms held China to four hits, the only two Chinese runs coming off starter Tae-in Won in the first. Jie Cao got credit for those two runs, sending both across with a bases-loaded single that tied the game at 2-2.

Korea would score the game’s next 20 runs.

Coming up at the World Baseball Classic

Through two days of competition, one team (Venezuela) has emerged as a clear Group front-runner. The Venezuelans are 2-0 in Group D, and need only one more victory (against either Israel or Nicaragua) to advance.

Mexico’s victory over Team USA muddled the Group C situation. Canada and Colombia have both won their only game, while Mexico and the U.S. are both 1-1. Only Great Britain, at 0-2, appears out of contention.

With Groups A and B wrapped up, the focus Monday shifts to the U.S.-based Groups C in Phoenix and D in Miami.

In Phoenix, Team USA will face a borderline must-win contest with Canada, which will be coming off its blowout win over Great Britain. A loss in that game and the U.S. will fall to 1-2. If that happens, the USA would need a victory over Colombia Wednesday plus some help to advance.

Colombia, meanwhile, will play Britain with a chance to go to 2-0 in the bracket.

In Miami, the Venezuelans — having put away Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic on successive days ‚ get a spa day Monday while their chief rivals face must-win games of their own against perceived lesser opponents. The Dominicans play Nicaragua in the afternoon game, followed by Puerto Rico against Israel Monday night.

The Group A and B qualifiers begin elimination play Wednesday when Australia faces Cuba in Tokyo. Thursday’s game will send Japan against Italy. Both are elimination contests.