The United States of America is moving on to the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic on Friday night following a win over Canada, but it wasn’t pretty.
As it has been throughout the tournament, the U.S. had glimpses of strong hitting paired with a dominant starter before slipping into a malaise of stagnation.
After going up 5-0 early in the game, it was as if manager Mark DeRosa and the rest of the lineup for the Americans fell asleep. The Canadians made it a 5-3 game heading into the top of the ninth, and instead of pinch-hitting for 0-4 Bryce Harper with a man on that could have been an important insurance run, DeRosa sent the struggling hitter back out there for another hack.
Although Harper should have walked on an egregious strike call by the umpire, the at-bat still ended with the Philadelphia star striking out for the umpteenth time this tournament against an opponent who wouldn’t crack any roster in the MLB.
It was a series of players who hadn’t stepped up in the group stage, continuing to struggle with the bat, and DeRosa casually watching from the dugout as they faltered.
Cal Raleigh, who was hitless entering the quarterfinal, continued his ways in another below-average performance, hitting and behind the plate. A flubbed ball by Raleigh late in the game that moved two Canadian runners into scoring position with no outs could have lost the game for Team USA if not for David Bednar working out of the jam.
Back-to-back reigning world champion catcher Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had two hits in the team’s last game against Italy, could only watch on from the sidelines.
The Americans held on due to clutch relief work by the likes of Bednar and San Diego Padres flamethrower closer Mason Miller, but it was another nervy, unimpressive win.
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Next, they will face the Dominican Republic, which has been impressive and then some this event. In their quarterfinal against a tough South Korea squad, they mercy ruled them 10-0 while putting on a show for the fans in Miami.
If DeRosa thinks the level of play Team USA has shown through the first five games of the tournament is up to par with the Dominicans, he will be leaving Sunday’s semifinal with his head down as fans jeer him running to the parking lot after a blowout elimination loss.
The Dominicans are playing with heart, excitement, and a whole lot of swagger, something this USA team hasn’t shown at all in any of its five outings.
The good news for Team USA? Regardless of how vanilla their batting has been or how poor their managing has been rated this tournament, they have Paul Skenes throwing in the semifinal.
And even though everything points to the D.R. as the massive favorites going into the semifinals, if Skenes is on the mound, anything can happen.
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