Canadians need a miracle, Pompey hurt
If they were being realistic, the scenario Team Canada organizers must surely have been imagining — before packing up and heading to the World Baseball Classic last week — was heading into Sunday’s final game of the round robin with a split at 1-1, only needing to beat Team USA to advance to round two.
After being upset 4-1 by upstart Colombia on Saturday, however, the prayer that needed to be answered became more complicated: First, the powerful Dominicans had to beat the U.S. in Saturday’s late game — and they did, rallying from a 5-0 deficit to win 7-5. Now, Canada has to win on Sunday by three or more runs or else toss an extra-innings shutout.
Manager Ernie Whitt — though he insists he thinks Canada can win every time he slips on the uniform — had always considered this a transition year for the senior men’s program, where he has held the reins since 1999. But lost in transition here at Marlins Park was any significant Canadian offence, plus experienced (active) pitchers to shine on the big stage. The most experienced Canadian hurlers are both retired stars — Ryan Dempster (since 2013) and Eric Gagne (since 2008).
The Canadian offence, in particular, has been missing in action for Whitt this weekend, scoring just two runs against the Dominicans and once against the Colombians, who started one of their two legitimate major-league pitchers, Julio Teheran.
Canada was led by Teheran’s Atlanta Braves teammate, Freddie Freeman. It was Freeman’s RBI single in the first that opened the scoring, but Teheran retired the next 13 Canadian hitters before leaving with a 3-1 lead.
“We got off to a good start in the first and Julio just settled down,” Freeman said. “We thought we were going to be able to get some good things going. We kind of scared them in the ninth, but we were too little too late. It’s been a pretty special time. This whole week has been pretty great, pretty memorable, especially with my family in the stands. Hopefully we can end it with a win.”
Freeman had dedicated his WBC appearance to his Toronto-born mother Rosemary, who passed away from melanoma when he was 10 years old. His father Fred (from Windsor, Ont.) and other relatives are in Miami. It has been emotional.
As for Canada’s pitching, both Dempster and Gagne have played significant roles not simply on the mound, but also in the clubhouse with the younger hurlers. There was 24-year-old Nick Pivetta, a Phillies minor-leaguer who started against Colombia and went four solid innings, allowing one run. He talked about Gagne.
“I’ve watched his career. I watched him pitch,” said Pivetta, a native of Victoria, B.C. “You try to get as much information off those guys in such little time. You learn from them — watch what they do, how they go about their business — and you want to have a career like them. You learn from what they have done, from their successes and their failures, so that you can best prepare yourself.”
Gagne tried to prepare in advance for what might happen against Colombia. After not pitching a significant game since 2008, Whitt brought the Montreal native in from the bullpen with the bases loaded and two out in the sixth, trailing 2-1. Gagne walked in a run, then went to ball three on the next hitter before fighting back. He added two more shutout innings, touching 94 m.p.h.
On Thursday, hours before the game against the Dominicans was scheduled to start, Gagne walked alone and stood on the mound in an empty Marlins Park — looking around, taking it all in, thinking about possible scenarios. It had been a long time for him without the adrenaline of closing a major-league game — or even close.
“I wanted to get a feel for the mound,” Gagne explained. “Maybe it’s a veteran move, just trying to get out there and see what it looks like, imagine the bases loaded, two outs. That’s what we try to imagine. That’s not exactly the outcome I was hoping for (on Saturday), but it was great. It was fun.”
Gagne still believes he can make that comeback to MLB. His performance in the loss to Colombia did nothing to deter that belief. In fact, Gagne believes he can return to the pitcher he once was.
“I was nervous, I was scared, I was everything you could think of,” Gagne said. “The first day of school is exactly that, but that’s why I’m here. I’m a veteran guy that’s been there. I feel like I’m a closer and that was a closing situation. I just didn’t come through. I’m glad it was me out there. I’m glad it wasn’t one of the young guys.
“That’s what I’m here for, to teach them: hey, everybody is going to fail. I did everything I could. . . . Tomorrow we’re going to come back and try to have a better day.”
As if Canada’s offence didn’t have enough of a handicap — without Joey Votto, Michael Saunders, Russell Martin or even Brett Lawrie on the roster — leadoff man Dalton Pompey stole second base in the sixth inning Saturday and, on the head-first slide, seemed to jam his helmet into the ground, bringing it into the bridge of his nose and drawing blood. The Blue Jays outfielder stayed in the game, playing another full inning before confessing to dizziness and being diagnosed with a mild concussion.
Pompey will be re-examined Sunday, but will have to go through MLB’s concussion protocol, so he’s not likely to play against Team USA. The Blue Jays will be cautious with Pompey after he missed time with a concussion in 2016.