USA’s win sets stage for rivalry with Dominican at World Baseball Classic
MIAMI – United States manager Jim Leyland thought his team was a bit too anxious and amped up Friday night playing against heavy underdog Colombia, which was making its first-ever appearance in the World Baseball Classic.
Controlling those emotions in a grudge match against the Dominican Republic about 20 hours later doesn’t figure to be any easier.
The WBC’s dream matchup barely survived intact when Adam Jones’ RBI single on an 0-2 count drove in the winning run with two outs in the 10th inning, as Team USA outlasted a dogged Colombian club 3-2 after overcoming a two-run deficit.
A rapidly aging Leyland joked that “Now you know why I’m not managing anymore,’’ upon arriving at the interview room after a victory that was much more difficult than anyone envisioned.
The US was held hitless for 52/3 innings by Colombia starter Jose Quintana and twice saw the South Americans put the potential winning run in scoring position late in the game before prevailing in walk-off fashion.
“I’m hoping this win takes a little bit of pressure off, and we can relax a little bit,’’ Leyland said after his club managed just six hits. “And when I say ‘relax,’ you don’t relax against the Dominican Republic, but at least the guys feel good they got a win under their belt.’’
The frenzied environment that’s a staple of many WBC games will only be heightened when the two tournament favorites meet Saturday evening, with Marcus Stroman taking the mound for Team USA and Edinson Volquez for the DR.
Backed by a boisterous fan base that turned Marlins Park into a giant fiesta, the defending-champion Dominicans cruised to a 9-2 victory over Canada on Thursday. They have won nine WBC games in a row and beat the US 3-1 in the second round of the 2013 tournament – also in Miami – the last time the clubs met.
US third baseman Nolan Arenado, who has been especially gung-ho about representing his native country, believes a rivalry has developed between the two baseball powerhouses.
“They’re the best team. They haven’t lost in two years. Yeah, you could say there’s a rivalry there,’’ Arenado said. “That’s good for baseball. And the Dominicans, they’re good for baseball also, the way they play the game and the way they have fun.’’
There wasn’t much of that on the US side for the better part of six innings Friday, as Quintana carved up a lineup packed with All-Stars and Colombia came to life offensively when Chris Archer was pulled – by previous agreement – after completing four innings and retiring all 12 batters he faced.
Reliever Mychal Givens yielded back-to-back doubles, the third one by Mauricio Ramos giving Colombia a stunning 2-0 lead in the fifth that had its followers dreaming of one of the biggest upsets this tournament has ever seen. Colombia had to win a qualifier last year to gain entry in the field.
A two-out, two-run rally in the sixth, capped when Arenado reached first base on a head-first slide after striking out on a wild pitch, eased the tension for the hosts. And the winning single by Jones, who had driven in a run with a double in the sixth, sent his ecstatic, relieved teammates on a mad dash to hug him and congratulate him.
The victory makes it less imperative for Team USA to prevail against the Dominicans because it could still advance to the second round by beating Canada on Sunday, but nobody was thinking in those terms after Friday’s thriller.
Leyland will likely try to stack the lineup with left-handed hitters against Volquez, so Christian Yelich and Eric Hosmer figure to start over Andrew McCutchen and Paul Goldschmidt, respectively. The skipper also plans to piggyback Stroman with Tanner Roark instead of emptying out his bullpen.
“Obviously, it’s the game that everybody circled on their calendar,’’ said Jones. “It’s going to be a sold-out crowd and I’m expecting noise throughout all nine innings. Both teams are stacked top to bottom, defensively, offensively, pitching staff. So I think this is what people are paying their good money for, for tomorrow’s game. (USA Today/TNS)