Puerto Rico beats USA in World Baseball Classic, forcing must-win game
SAN DIEGO – Breaking down Friday’s Pool F game of the World Baseball Classic between the United States and Puerto Rico:
Puerto Rico 6, United States 5
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The game: Puerto Rico guaranteed itself a berth in the championship round with its fifth consecutive victory in the WBC.
The Puerto Ricans knocked around USA starter Marcus Stroman before he knew what hit him, scoring four runs in the first inning, and then let starter Seth Lugo and their bullpen do the rest.
Closer Edwin Diaz walked Nolan Arenado and gave up a single to Eric Hosmer to start the ninth inning, but with the tying run at the plate, struck out Buster Posey and Paul Goldschmidt before yielding a two-run triple to Brandon Crawford. Replays appeared to show Crawford was out advancing to third. But Diaz bounced back to strike out Josh Harrison to end it.
Puerto Rico, which vowed to be aggressive, stole five bases off All-Star catcher Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants, including three by second baseman Javy Baez of the Chicago Cubs. They put pressure on the U.S. the entire night, tacking on two insurance runs in the sixth inning on third baseman Arenado's two-base throwing error.
Puerto Rico, the first team to score runs off USA’s starting rotation this tournament, could have really blown the game open were it not for two baserunning gaffes in the first two innings.
After opening the game with six consecutive singles before Eddie Rosario’s sacrifice fly, they ran into a second out when Yadier Molina went to third base on the sac fly, and overran the bag. In the third inning, Molina hit a dribbler to pitcher Marcus Stroman, who threw it past first baseman Eric Hosmer. Yet, Carlos Correa rounded third too far, got hung up between third and home, and was tagged out.
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State of Pool F: Puerto Rico, which lost in the finals to the Dominican Republic in the last WBC, won Pool F and guaranteed a return trip to the championship round with the victory. Wins over the Dominican Republic and USA means Puerto Rico holds the tiebreaker over both even if it loses to winless Venezuela on Saturday afternoon.
Their next game will be Monday against the Netherlands at Dodger Stadium in the semifinals.
Dominican Republic's pitching does the job against Venezuela
Sweet emotion: Team USA's getting the hang of fun at World Baseball Classic
For the Americans, the scenario is simple: Beat the Dominican Republic on Saturday night, and they’re going to the Finals. Lose, and they’re going home.
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Pivot point: Puerto Rico jumped on Stroman and never let him up for air. They opened the game with six consecutive singles before Rosario made the first out with a sacrifice fly, which turned into a double play when Yadier Molina was unable to keep his foot on third base.
It was the first earned runs permitted by USA’s starting rotation the entire tournament, after pitching 17 1/3 scoreless innings, and giving up just eight hits.
Puerto Rico’s 4-0 lead proved insurmountable against Lugo of the New York Mets and their bullpen.
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Man of the moment: Lugo, who’s fighting for a job in the New York Mets’ starting rotation, may be winning a spot the way he has pitched in the WBC.
Lugo, going 5 2/3 innings, kept USA’s offense in check by yielding five hits and three runs. He was hurt by the long ball, with Buster Posey and Adam Jones both going deep.
Lugo has opened eyes in this tournament, giving up just six hits and three runs, yielding a 2.45 ERA.
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Needing a mulligan: Arenado. USA was slowly coming back against Puerto Rico, narrowing the lead to 4-3, and on the verge of snuffing out Puerto Rico’s rally.
Reliever Andrew Miller, pitching with runners on second and third and two outs, induced a chopper to Arenado. It took a high hop, but Arenado snagged it. He threw to first baseman Eric Hosmer, but he short-hopped the throw, and it skipped past Hosmer, down the line.
Two runs scored, and Puerto Rico had a 6-3 lead, and soon a berth in the championship round.
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Manager’s special: USA manager Jim Leyland, watching Stroman struggle to even record an out, had Jake McGee warming up in the first inning. Leyland realized the game could turn into a bullpen mess, particularly with the next game scheduled 24 hours later. He decided to keep Stroman in the game.
It paid off quite nicely, with Stroman lasting 4 2/3 innings, and saving the bullpen. Mychal Givens took over in the fifth, before Leyland used one reliever every inning the rest of the game. Still, no one was overused, enabling Leyland to have a full arsenal of relievers for Saturday’s epic rematch against the Dominican Republic.
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What you missed on TV: Mike Aviles and Hector Santiago may have grown up in New York and New Jersey, respectively, but passionately talked before the game how much it means to them to play for Puerto Rico.
“It's a sense of pride to play for Puerto Rico,’’ says Aviles, an infielder for the Cleveland Indians. “This is my third Classic, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've never considered myself anything other than Puerto Rican."
Says Santiago, the Minnesota Twins lefty: “I've gotten called New York Rican all the time, even though I'm from Newark. But honestly, it's the same thing. Growing up with the food, the culture, playing dominos, all of that Latin culture. I was never called American. I've always been called Puerto Rican.’’
GALLERY: Best of the World Baseball Classic
