Team USA Gets Assist From Italy To Advance To World Baseball Classic Quarterfinals
Team USA was in an unenviable position, one that it did not expect to be in at the World Baseball Classic: needing help in order to move on to the knockout stages. The Americans needed Italy to score at least four runs or win the game outright against Mexico to advance as the Pool B runner-up.
Fortunately for the United States, Italy scored more than four runs, and they laid the smackdown on Mexico, 9-1, paving the way for them to continue their run at the WBC. This was a major sigh of relief for a team that many had predicted would win the entire tournament for the first time since 2017 (second overall), and for a squad that embarrassingly believed it had clinched a knockout-stages berth after edging Mexico on Monday.
Again, this was not the ideal situation for the U.S. to be involved in, but now that it knows it will continue to play at the WBC, the team can refocus its sights on bringing back the WBC title.
Team USA Virtually Unbeatable in First Three Games, Then Looked Terrible in the Fourth
The first three games for Team USA came and went without a blip as expected. Brazil, one of the youngest teams in the tournament, had good moments against the U.S., but its inexperience was palpable, evidenced by giving up seven runs in the ninth inning for a 15-5 final. In truth, the U.S. didn’t play as well as the score indicated, but it was still a rout nevertheless.
Next came Great Britain, a more formidable team that has MLB-level players such as Jazz Chisolm Jr. and Trayce Thompson on its roster. Having players from the major leagues was not enough for the British; despite striking first with a home run, the Americans rallied to put across nine unanswered runs for a 9-1 beatdown.
Mexico has given Team USA fits in the classic for a long time. Entering the contest against its rival to the south, the U.S. had a record of 1-3 in WBC games and had not triumphed against the Mexicans since 2006. Needless to say, this was a game that the Americans had circled.
A 5-run third inning was enough for the Red, White, and Blue to hang on for easily its biggest victory of the tournament. So huge that the squad celebrated advancing to the quarterfinals. Except there was one problem: Team USA had indeed not advanced to the knockout stages.
Manager Mark DeRosa admitted to telling his players they had advanced in error. This all came out after playing against its last opponent, Italy. From the onset, it was quite clear that Team USA was playing like a team that believed it had nothing to play for. The Italians saw this and took advantage, jumping out to an 8-0 cushion in the sixth inning before winning 8-6.
Last Word
Team USA is extremely lucky to still be in the WBC, and it should buy Italy dinner for taking care of business. Having to rely on others as opposed to controlling its own destiny is inexcusable for a team that possesses this level of talent. However, this happening could prove to be the fuel that the U.S. needs to regroup and continue its quest for WBC glory.
