Final thoughts
So Team USA remain alive in the 2023 World Baseball Classic despite a harrowing inning of relief from pitcher Daniel Bard and will face Cuba tomorrow. The Guardian will continue to follow their progress in the tournament, but that will do it for today’s live coverage. Thanks to everybody who followed along with us and especially all of those who contributed along the way. Ciao!
Updated
Email from Ralph Hudnall:
Just wanted to add I think another issue with US attendance is March Madness.
Thanks
The timing isn’t ideal and college basketball is definitely something that has overshadowed this tournament, which is a shame because games like the one we just watched show why this tournament has been great for baseball worldwide.
It was an up-and-down affair, but Trea Turner’s eight-inning grand slam ended up being the difference in what was a showcase between two powerful offenses!
USA has eliminated Venezuela and will play Cuba in tomorrow’s World Baseball Classic semi-finals!
USA defeats Venezuela 9-7!
USA 9-7 Venezuela, FINAL
Santander represents Venezuela’s last hope. He looks at a strike. 0-1. He fouls off the next pitch. 0-2. Pressly throws one high upstairs, but Santander doesn’t chase. 1-2. Santander fouls the next pitch off. 1-2. He fouls that one off too. 1-2. The stadium organist plays some ominous chords. Santander pops it up into foul ground and that will do it!
USA has defeated Venezuela 9-7!
USA 9-7 Venezuela, bottom 9th inning
Eduardo Escobar is pinch-hitting here and Pressly quickly gets ahead of him 1-2 before he grounds out to Goldschmidt at first base. Venezuela is down to its final out!
USA 9-7 Venezuela, bottom 9th inning
Ryan Pressly is here to close things out for the US. Giménez is up and he flies out to Trout for the first out. Venezuela has two more outs left.
USA 9-7 Venezuela, top 9th inning
Bobby Witt Jr is up and then he is down as he flies out to right to end the inning. We’re heading into the bottom of the 9th, where Venezuela needs a big-time rally to avoid elimination.
USA 9-7 Venezuela, top 9th inning
Anderson also swiftly falls into an 0-2 hole. You can really see why Venezuela probably should have used Alvarado when the game truly was on the line.
Or maybe I just jinxed him, Anderson hits what’s just barely a double.
USA 9-7 Venezuela, top 9th inning
Tucker is up next, he falls behind 0-2, then takes a ball. 1-2. Tucker fouls off the next pitch. 1-2 still. Alvoardo’s next pitch is in the dirt. 2-2. Tucker swings wide and gets nothing and becomes out number two.
USA 9-7 Venezuela, top 9th inning
José Alvarado is out pitching the ninth for Venezuela, the announcers are wondering why he wasn’t in the game earlier. He gets Arenado to fly out to start the ninth inning.
Also, the word is that Altuve has a broken thumb, but it’s not yet confirmed. Terrible news, if true.
John Fleckles:
Williams showed some cajones there. Leadoff double, then down 3-0 and comes back for a whiff, then strands Acuna at third,
Now need 3 outs….MORE RUNS!
It was one of the best innings of relief we’ve seen tonight.
USA 9-7 Venezuela, bottom 8th inning
Acuña steals third for some reason, it’s a bit of a weird situation to do so but it works out. Torres is at the plate and gets ahead of the count 2-1. Williams just paints the corner with a pitch for a called strike. 2-2. On the next pitch, it looks like Torres might score a run but it’s right there for Mookie Betts to collect for the final out. We’re going to the ninth inning!
USA 9-7 Venezuela, bottom 8th inning
Suárez swings at a pitch that’s nowhere near a strike for strike one. 0-1. The next pitch is low and he lays off this time. 1-1. He fouls off the next. 1-2. He strikes out on the next pitch. Two down in the inning. He’s one out away from stranding a leadoff double here and preserving the US lead.
USA 9-7 Venezuela, bottom 8th inning
Peralta is up next and he gets ahead of the count 2-0. (Williams throws another pitch.) Make that 3-0. Williams gets one over the plate for a strike. 3-1. (That was a hittable pitch, but can’t blame Peralta for laying off.) Peralta swings and misses at the next pitch. 3-2. He does it again and gets himself out. That’s the first out of the inning.
USA 9-7 Venezuela, bottom 8th inning
Devin Williams is in pitching for the US. Acuña is at bat and he hits a leadoff double. You didn’t think it was going to be that easy, did you USA?
Email from John Fleckes with the subject “Now I hear them!!”:
Bases loaded jack by Turner, why Alvarado wasn’t in idk but I’m happy he wasn’t.
Need 6 outs. Need more runs.
That grand slam definitely got the crowd loud. It’s very difficult to think what could have caused a bigger swing. I mean, it’s literally not possible from an offensive standpoint.
USA 9-7 Venezuela, top 8th inning
Goldschmidt hits a long foul home run for strike out. Then he takes a pitch outside for a ball. 1-1. He swings and misses. 1-2. He fails to check his next swing and strikes out but it’s fair to say the US did what they wanted to do at the top of the inning and now it’s Venezuela who needs two runs and has only two outs to get them.
USA 9-7 Venezuela, top 8th inning
Mike Trout works a full count before striking out to become out number two.
USA 9-7 Venezuela, top 8th inning
Well. That changes things significantly!
Mookie Betts is up next with still nobody out. He takes two strikes and then a ball. He then hits a ball that also goes quite a long distance but stays in the park for out number one.
GRAND SLAM (Trea Turner, USA 9-7 Venezuela)
USA 9-7 Venezuela, top 8th inning
Silvino Bracho is pitching for Venezuela now, facing Trea Turner and he immediately gets ahead of him 0-2. That’s a great start.
THAT’S A BAD FINISH. TURNER HITS THAT PITCH RIGHT OUT! GRAND SLAM HOME RUN! USA!
Venezuela makes a pitching change, probably a wise choice here.
Email from John Fleckles on the attendance debate with the title “How about Arizona?”:
However, the game against Mexico was in AZ which certainly has a US base (Half the league has spring training there) yet the Mexican fans totally outnumbered US fans.
USA 5-7 Venezuela, top 8th inning
Realmuto takes a ball. 1-0. And he takes another ball. 2-0. The next pitch? That one hits him, so the US is now in a bases loaded, nobody out situation!
How the turntables have turned.
USA 5-7 Venezuela, top 8th inning
STRIKE THREE!! THIS GAME IS INTENSE!!
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 19, 2023
📺: WBC on FOX pic.twitter.com/p76250ffD7
I was wondering why Quijada was trending on Twitter. It turns out this clip has gone viral.
However, he’s in a jam quick here as Pete Alonso hits a blooper that finds a place in no man’s land and it’s runners on first and second with nobody out.
USA 5-7 Venezuela, top 8th inning
Quijada pitches to Anderson, who works a full count before taking ball four. A leadoff walk could be just what the US needs here this late in the game.
Updated
Email from Robert Speed:
I think you have to take the location into account in terms of fan support. Not only are there a lot of Venezuelan ex-pats, Miami is fundamentally not a very good baseball town. Put this game in St Louis or New York - different story.
I think there’s a fair point here in regards to the fans actually at the stadium. (As someone who was raised in South Florida, I can confirm that it’s not great for baseball down there.) I still do think that the WBC has not caught on in the US in the way that MLB hoped it would.
USA 5-7 Venezuela, bottom 7th inning
Perez lines out on one pitch to end the 7th inning, but the US now needs to get at least two runs and have just six outs to work with here.
Solo home run! (Luis Arráez, USA 5-7 Venezuela)
USA 5-7 Venezuela, bottom 7th inning
Arráez gets ahead of the count 2-1 and hits a huge home run for some much-needed insurance for Venezuela.
USA 5-6 Venezuela, bottom 7th inning
Santander strikes out swinging for out number two.
USA 5-6 Venezuela, bottom 7th inning
David Bednar is in the game, pitching to Rengifo, who flies out for the first out of the bottom of the 7th. In potentially serious news, Altuve is being evaluated for a hand injury, which is not what Houston Astros fans want to hear (or baseball fans in general).
Seventh inning stretch
I first was going to say I had no idea that Carly Simon did a version of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” but I’m sure that if I did there was a 99.9% chance that someone would dig up an instance where I linked to this very clip in a previous Guardian baseball liveblog.
USA 5-6 Venezuela, top 7th inning
José Quijada is the new pitcher, he falls behind Tucker 2-0, but gets a called strike on his third pitch. 2-1. He fouls off the next. 2-2. And the next. 2-2. He takes a ball on the high corner. 3-2. Tucker swings and fouls off the next pitch and gets a piece of the catcher’s hand. Oof.
Still 3-2. On the next pitch, Tucker is called out on strikes to end the inning! A huge out there! To the seventh-inning stretch!
USA 5-6 Venezuela, top 7th inning
Arenado falls behind 0-2, the crowd gets loud trying to urge a strikeout. Instead, Arenado hits a single and it’s runners on the corners! Still two outs. Venezuela goes to the bullpen after Hernandez allows back-to-back singles.
A key moment here obviously.
USA 5-6 Venezuela, top 7th inning
Goldschmidt with a solid single? US rally starts here?
USA 5-6 Venezuela, top 7th inning
Mike Trout is up here. He takes a strike. Even though it feels worse, it should be noted that this is just a one-run game. This is not insurmountable. This is the definition of surmountable. Super-surmountable.
Trout takes three straight balls and then swings and misses at 3-1. Full count. Hernandez gets him to swing and miss! A huge out there! Two out in the inning!
USA 5-6 Venezuela, top 7th inning
There’s actually a new pitcher for Venezuela! Carlos Henandez will be throwing to Mookie Betts to start the seventh.
He falls behind 2-0 but gets Betts to look at a strike and then foul off another offering. 2-2. Betts looks at ball three. 3-2. Betts fouls the next pitch off and then pops one up. One down.
Email from John Fleckles:
When it comes to baseball I admit I’m a nationalist and it really pisses me off that against Mexico and Venezuela there are either more fans from those two countries or else they are more passionate than Americans about the game. Shame on us.
It definitely feels like the rest of the world has embraced the World Baseball Classic in a way that we haven’t. Whatever it says about baseball in this country, it certainly isn’t great.
USA 5-6 Venezuela, bottom 6th inning
Ottavino strikes out Torres on a beauty of a breaking ball that moves out of the zone as the batter swings. On the next pitch, Giménez grounds out so quickly that I don’t even have time to create a new block of text.
USA 5-6 Venezuela, bottom 6th inning
Adam Ottavino is pitching for the US, facing Suárez. He gets him to strike out.
Email from Joel Eley:
Hi Hunter,
This game feels like it is going to be tight to the end and a crazy play will end it. Walk off HR for Venezuela from my man Santander or diving superman catch bt Betts for the last out. Final score 12-11 either way.
Definitely feels like the current score isn’t going to be the final, at the very least.
USA 5-6 Venezuela, top 6th inning
Trea Turner gets rung up by the umpire on a called third strike and that was a relatively brief top of the sixth. García’s the MVP of this game if Venezuela holds on.
USA 5-6 Venezuela, top 6th inning
Realmuto hits one to right field but that one also finds a fielder’s glove for an out.
USA 5-6 Venezuela, top 6th inning
García is back up for another inning, facing Schwarber. On a 2-2 pitch, Schwarber gets a good swing on a ball but not to a place in the stadium where it will get out. It’s just a long flyball out.
I’m going to be honest: if USA loses there have to be some questions about DeRosa sticking with Daniel Bard that long last inning when it was immediately clear that he didn’t have his command and we all know what kind of pitcher he is when that happens.
USA 5-6 Venezuela, bottom 5th inning
Peralta grounds out to end the inning but that’s a huge inning for Venezuela who are now in front for the first time today!
Sacrifice fly! (Ronald Acuña Jr, USA 5-6 Venezuela)
USA 5-6 Venezuela, bottom 5th inning
Acuña hits a looooong flyball and that certainly will be enough for Arráez to score! Venezuela has the lead!
RBI single! (Salvador Perez, USA 5-5 Venezuela)
USA 5-5 Venezuela, bottom 5th inning
Salvador Perez hits a single and this is a tied game! Still only one out, runners on second and third!
Run-scoring fielder's choice! (Arráez, USA 5-4 Venezuela)
USA 5-4 Venezuela, bottom 5th inning
Jason Adam is in here to pitch to Arráez. He’s got a tough job ahead of him now. Arráez hits a scorcher to Anderson, too fast to turn a double play. USA has to be okay with trading a run for an out as the runner scores from third.
Honestly just hope that this doesn’t mean that whatever mental issues kept Bard out of the major leagues for an extended time have returned. His comeback was an all-time great baseball story. Maybe it was just a bad outing.
USA 5-3 Venezuela, bottom 5th inning
After all that, Santander walks and USA coach Mark DeRosa relieves Bard. He should probably have done that earlier. The bases are still loaded and there are still no outs.
Runner scores on wild pitch! (USA 5-3 Venezuela)
USA 5-3 Venezuela, bottom 5th inning
Luis Rengifo pinch runs for a relieved Altuve. During the at-bat, Torres scores on a wild pitch! Bard has completely unraveled here.
USA 5-2 Venezuela, bottom 5th inning
Can’t imagine Bard is going to have a huge leash here if he doesn’t have his command. He’s very Jeckyll-and-Hyde. He gets Altuve in a 1-2 count.
Ouch. Bard’s next pitch hits Altuve and the bases are loaded. This is hard to watch given his history, hope this doesn’t mean his command issues are making a return. Bases are loaded with nobody out. Altuve heads to the dugout, hurt.
USA 5-2 Venezuela, bottom 5th inning
Bard’s pitch to Altuve gets away from Realmuto and yeah, once again, this is bringing back all sorts of bad memories and runners move up to second and third.
USA 5-2 Venezuela, bottom 5th inning
Giménez just sort of taps in an infield hit and there are runners on first and second with nobody out for Venezuela. This feels like a good rally opportunity if they can take advantage.
USA 5-2 Venezuela, bottom 5th inning
Daniel Bard, who I honestly can not believe returned to the majors after he flamed out with the Boston Red Sox, is the next pitcher for Team USA.
He walks Torres on five pitches, which is about what I remember from his Boston days.
USA 5-2 Venezuela, top 5th inning
Tim Anderson strikes out swinging, but the US has padded their lead thanks to a Kyle Tucker solo homer. We’re halfway through regulation here!
Home run! (Kyle Tucker, USA 5-2 Venezuela)
USA 5-2 Venezuela, top 5th inning
Kyle Tucker is up next and on a 1-1 count he hits a solo home run that puts the US up three runs!
USA 4-2 Venezuela, top 5th inning
Arenado is up next, he falls behind 0-2 right off the bat. Is that an unmixed metaphor? He then hits a long foul before meekly grounding out to first base.
USA 4-2 Venezuela, top 5th inning
García is still pitching for Venezuela, here he’s facing Goldschmidt again. It looks like he’s going to hit a double to leftfield but Peralta makes a diving catch to rob him. Yowzers!
USA 4-2 Venezuela, bottom 4th inning
This could be Lynn’s last hitter and Suárez is not going to make it easy on him. He builds up a full count but finally gets him to strike out to end the fourth inning.
USA 4-2 Venezuela, bottom 4th inning
Peralta hits a single and Venezuela has a base runner with two outs.
USA 4-2 Venezuela, bottom 4th inning
Acuña grounds out to shortstop.
USA 4-2 Venezuela, bottom 4th inning
Salvador Perez promptly grounds out to start the bottom of the fourth.
@HunterFelt I thought the shift was history?
— Richard #FBPE Woods (@gasheadforever) March 19, 2023
It is in Major League Baseball, but the WBC is still operating under 2022 rules. So, if you’re a hardcore fan of defensive infield shifts, you should cherish every remaining WBC game.
USA 4-2 Venezuela, top 4th inning
Trout is up next, with two out and a runner still on second. He works a solid at-bat, seeing eight pitches before hitting a line drive right into a fielder’s glove to end the inning.
Sacrifice fly! (Mookie Betts, USA 4-2 Venezuela)
USA 4-2 Venezuela, top 4th inning
Betts is up next with one out, runners on second and third. García gets ahead of him 0-2, maybe Venezuela can get out of this jam without a run. Betts fouls off the next pitch. Still 0-2. He hits a fly that’s just long enough to score Schwarber.
So no on that idea, I guess.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, top 4th inning
Turner grounds out to short but so quickly that Schwarber at third can’t score. Solid break for Venezuela there.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, top 4th inning
Realmuto hits a hot shot to Altuve that should be an out but he throws a bit too quickly and the results are runners on second and third with nobody out.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, top 4th inning
Schwarber is up next, he hits a base hit against the shift against García.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, bottom 3rd inning
Arráez is up now. he skies one to leftfield to end the inning.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, bottom 3rd inning
Santander, who has my favorite last name on either roster, is up. He immediately flies out for the second out of the inning.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, bottom 3rd inning
Altuve is up next with a runner on first. He gets ahead 2-0, then takes a strike. 2-1. He takes a ball. 3-1. Fouls one off. 3-2. Fouls off another one. 3-2 still. He then grounds out, but Giménez does advance to second on the out.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, bottom 3rd inning
Andrés Giménez is up for Venezuela against Lance Lynn. USA might have the advantage here with their starter actually having gotten more than one out. Giménez works a full count and takes a ball in the dirt. Leadoff walk for Venezuela.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, top 3rd inning
Tim Anderson is up and he grounds out to end the inning. It would be hilarious if this ends up being a 3-2 game and everything was already decided in the first inning.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, top 3rd inning
Kyle Tucker hits a double and it doesn’t look like this one will be overturned.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, top 3rd inning
Arenado hits a foul home run for strike one. Then he swings and connects only with air. The pitcher Luis García gets Arenado to hit a ground ball to shortstop and, after some discussion, he’s called out at first for the second out of the inning.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, top 3rd inning
New pitcher Luis García is facing Goldschmidt. The announcers are now bringing up WBC historical statistics, I can’t believe those are things now. I feel so old.
He strikes out on a 2-2 pitch. A shot of Ken Griffey Jr, a coach for USA, makes me feel even older.
Updated
USA 3-2 Venezuela, bottom 2nd inning
Torres strikes out and, honestly, I’m still a little bewildered that they overturned that double on replay. Might be something to note should Venezuela happen to lose by one run today.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, bottom 2nd inning
Never mind, on replay Suárez is called out on second. So there are two down and bases empty for Gleyber Torres. Both teams have now already used their challenges.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, bottom 2nd inning
Eugenio Suárez hits a booming double off a breaking pitch that breaks bad.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, bottom 2nd inning
The camera catches a guy in a Bald Eagle uniform, so there’s at least one Team USA superfan out there. David Peralta is at bat here for Venezuela, he grounds out for the first out.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, top 2nd inning
Trout gets ahead of the count 2-1 and takes a healthy hack, just fouling off Ruiz’s pitch. 2-2. On the next pitch, Trout strikes out.
We had a half-inning without any runs!
USA 3-2 Venezuela, top 2nd inning
Betts grounds into a double play. There’s a runner on third, but two outs in the inning now. Venezuela will take that every time.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, top 2nd inning
Trea Turner up next, with a runner on second base. He gets ahead in the count 3-1. Mookie Betts, who just led off this game, is already on deck.
Turner takes ball four. Runners on first and second, no outs.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, top 2nd inning
7 hits, 5 runs in the first inning. Let’s see if things calm down here in the second. J.T. Realmuto is up, and he goes down 0-2 against Ruiz. There’s a brief talk with catcher Salvador Perez to make sure he wasn't hurt by a foul ball before the third pitch at the at-bat.
After all that, Realmuto golfs Realmuto’s pitch into the outfield for a double. The hits just keep on coming.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, bottom 1st inning
Ronald Acuña Jr lines out to Trout in center to end the inning but, well, we definitely have a game here! The final score might something akin to 10-9, that’s going to be my prediction.
USA 3-2 Venezuela, bottom 1st inning
Salvador Perez also hits one long, but this one stays in the park for a loud out. Two down.
2-run home run (Luis Arráez, USA 3-2 Venezuela)
USA 3-2 Venezuela, bottom 1st inning
Luis Arráez just absolutely crushes a two-run home run and this is just a one-run game already again. This is definitely a faster-paced game than yesterday’s.
USA 3-0 Venezuela, bottom 1st inning
Anthony Santander pops one up for the first out of the bottom of the first.
USA 3-0 Venezuela, bottom 1st inning
You’ll never believe what José Altuve does to start the bottom of the first: he gets a base hit. This might be an offense-heavy game.
Email from Joel Eley:
Hi Hunter from Jakarta. I totally get your views on Mr Trout but think that Ronald Acuna Jr must be chomping at the bit after missing the Braves World Series win through injury. Either way there is so much talent on both teams there should be a lot of hits with neither side having a true ace to start. I would also love to see Santander go big as he is from the Orioles and found last season a bit strange as were suddenly almost relevant again.
Hoping for a great game.
All the best Joel
Well, we certainly got a lot of hits to start here! Five consecutive ones, so I’m going to say that part of your prediction was spot on Joel.
USA 3-0 Venezuela, top 1st inning
Ruiz gets Kyle Schwarber to pop up to left field and we finally end the inning. Ruiz puts out the fire but Venezuela is down early and will have to get inspiration from Mexico’s come-from-behind victory yesterday.
USA 3-0 Venezuela, top 1st inning
José Ruiz is now in the game for Venezuela, probably the right move given the fact that Pérez had nothing. He manages to get Tim Anderson to strike out for the second out.
RBI single (Kyle Tucker, USA 3-0 Venezuela)
USA 3-0 Venezuela, top 1st inning
Kyle Tucker singles in the third run of the inning. Venezuela challenges the call that Tucker is safe at second and the challenge is successful so at least there’s the first out but that’s three runs on the board and there’s still a runner on third base with just one out.
USA 2-0 Venezuela, top 1st inning
Nolan Arenado hits a single. Man Pérez just cannot get an out here. Runners on first and third!
RBI Single (Paul Goldschmidt, USA 2-0 Venezuela)
USA 2-0 Venezuela, top 1st inning
Goldschmidt hits a single and that scores Trout from third base. This is quite a start!
Run on a single and an error! (Mike Trout, USA 1-0 Venezuela)
USA 1-0 Venezuela, top 1st inning
Almost immediately afterward, Mike Trout hits a single, Betts makes it to third… and then gets waved home after a throwing error by Ronald Acuña Jr. The USA almost immediately take a one-run lead!
USA 0-0 Venezuela, top 1st inning
Mookie Betts starts things off with a base hit!
First pitch
USA 0-0 Venezuela, top 1st inning
Martín Pérez throws the first pitch and it’s a strike to Mookie Betts! 0-1.
Updated
We have actual live coverage! Kenny Albert and John Smoltz are on the call. Also, I just realized that Kenny Albert is Marv Albert’s son at this very moment. Nepo babies are everywhere!
SPOILER ALERT: It was. (Okay, they went with “Dusty Baker gets World Series ring” which I feel counts.)
I bet the number one 2022 postseason moment will be the Houston Astros winning the World Series.
Did I mention that the winner of USA v Venezuela goes on to face Cuba tomorrow in the semi-final matchup? That feels like an important detail that I just totally whiffed on but it is a thing that will indeed happen.
Updated
You can tell that there is absolutely no respect being given to the World Baseball Classic because there’s no pointless pregame chatter on FOX before the start of this game. Instead, we’re getting a compilation of 2022 MLB postseason highlights.
Predictions
Venezuela is the favored team in this matchup, particularly as the US had some struggles even to advance out of pool play. However, I just think the US is going to fight through the collective indifference of their countrymen and shatter Venezuela’s dreams.
My reason? Mike Trout. After being stuck on the Los Angeles Angels and thus exiled from the MLB postseason, he has been craving a chance to show off his generational talents in big games. I feel like he’s going to have a big moment today and that the US will pull off a victory.
Have a different opinion? Feel free to send it our way, by email to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com or via tweet to @HunterFelt and we’ll post them here and see how they hold up. (I realize that this may, in fact, be a disincentive.)
Venezuela lineup
1. José Altuve, 2B
2. Anthony Santander, RF
3. Luis Arraez, 1B
4. Salvador Perez, C
5. Ronald Acuña Jr, CF
6. David Peralta, LF
7. Eugenio Suárez, 3B
8. Gleyber Torres, DH
9. Andrés Giménez, SS
Starting pitcher: Martín Pérez
Updated
USA lineup
1. Mookie Betts, RF
2. Mike Trout, CF
3. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
4. Nolan Areando, 3B
5. Kyle Tucker, LF
6. Tim Anderson, 2B
7. Kyle Schwarber, DH
8. J.T. Realmuto, C
9. Trea Turner, SS
Starting pitcher: Lance Lynn
Preamble
Welcome to the final game of the 2023 WBC quarter-finals. Tonight’s game features the United States v Venezuela for the right to face Cuba in tomorrow’s semi-finals. Team USA just barely made it out of Pool C, making them underdogs against an undefeated Venezuelan team that has scored 23 runs while allowing just nine.
Today’s expected starting pitchers are Martín Pérez, currently with the Texas Rangers, and the venerable Lance Lynn, who is now with the Chicago White Sox. Starting pitching, obviously will be key here, but one wonders whether there is an x-factor at play: which team has more on the line? While Team USA cared enough to bring out a stacked lineup, there’s no question that there is something of an enthusiasm gap between the countries these teams are playing.
When Edwin Díaz suffered a freak injury while celebrating Puerto Rico’s victory over the Dominican Republic, there was an inevitable backlash from MLB fans who were upset that such an important player was injured in what was dismissed as an “exhibition game” rather than in spring training (never mind that this consists of nothing but exhibition games). While these games are getting big ratings outside the U.S., here in the states it’s nearly impossible to find the scores in the avalanche of college basketball results.
Well, they are missing out. Mexico’s comeback win over Puerto Rico was an absolute thriller, a game that wasn’t decided until the final out. Now that pool play is over, the World Baseball Classic features some of the best baseball players on the literal planet playing win-or-go-home games in a postseason atmosphere. It only comes around once every four years and we should celebrate it.
Want to chime in? This blog is partly yours, as we would love to use your questions, commentary and such throughout today’s game. You can send them to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com if you prefer to use email or perhaps tweet them at @HunterFelt if you happen to use the Dying Bird Site.
It’s USA v Venezuela at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida. The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 pm EST, airing in prime time on FOX in America. We’ll be back before then here at the Guardian with starting lineups, predictions and other such important things (and also maybe a few non-important things).
Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s a look back at Mexico’s win over Puerto Rico on Friday night.
