San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
SCHWARBER, ARENADO POWER U.S. IN OPENER
United States 6, Great Britain 2
Kyle Schwarber launched a three-run homer, Nolan Arenado had three hits and two RBIS, and the United States overcame a slow start to beat Great Britain 6-2 on Saturday night in the World Baseball Classic opener for both teams in Phoenix.
Trayce Thompson put Britain up 1-0 in the first inning with a homer off Adam Wainwright that just cleared the left-center wall. Thompson — who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers — is one of the few players on Britain’s roster with big-league experience.
Thompson’s drive briefly put a damper on the mood for the crowd of 39,650 at Chase Field, but the Americans weren’t down long.
The U.S. grabbed a 2-1 lead in the third and then broke the game open in the fourth on Schwarber’s shot that landed in the stands near the swimming pool that sits behind the right-center fence at Chase Field.
Japan 10, Czech Republic 2: Shohei Ohtani had another RBI double, 21-year-old right-hander Roki Sasaki reached 100 mph 21 times in 66 pitches and Japan clinched a quarterfinal berth.
Shugo Maki hit his second home run of the tournament and new Boston Red Sox oufielder Masataka Yoshida had three RBIS, including a go-ahead, two-run double in the third inning off loser Ondrej Satoria as the Samurai Warriors overcame a 1-0 deficit.
Ohtani went 1-for-3 with a walk before a crowd of 41,637 in the Tokyo Dome, leaving for a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. He is 5-for-10 with three doubles, four RBIS and five walks for Japan (3-0), which has one more group game and will host a quarterfinal on Wednesday or
Thursday. He also has pitched four scoreless innings.
Sasaki struck out eight in 32⁄3 innings and got the win. He allowed an unearned run, two hits and two walks.
Venezuela 5, Dominican Republic 1: Luis Garcia (Astros) struck out seven in three hitless innings and Venezuela tagged NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara to beat the Dominican Republic. The game drew an electric crowd of 35,890 in Miami.
Anthony Santander homered off Alcantara in the second. The Miami Marlins ace allowed three runs on five hits and three walks in 32⁄3 innings for a team many consider the WBC favorite.
The Dominican Republic threatened in the eighth when Wander Franco singled and World Series MVP Jeremy Peña walked. But Santander made a diving catch on Jeimer Candelario’s fly ball to right field and Francisco Mejia struck out.
Padres left fielder Juan Soto hit an RBI double in the first to give the Dominican Republic a 1-0 lead.
Colombia 5, Mexico 4 (10): The back-and-forth game saw Mexico take a 1-0 lead in the fourth on an RBI single by Isaac Paredes.
Colombia tied the game in the top of the fifth and then took a 3-1 lead on a two-run homer by Reynaldo Rodriguez. Mexico’s Randy Arozarena responded with his own two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at 3-all.
The game was tied at 4 going into extra innings. In the 10th, Gustavo Campero hit a grounder that Luis Urias couldn’t handle, which allowed Alfaro to score. Guillermo Zuñiga retired Mexico in order in the bottom of the 10th to seal the win. Jesus Cruz took the loss.
Australia 12, China 2: Rixon Wingrove hit a three-run double off loser Xin Qi in the first inning and added an RBI single in a five-run fourth as the Southern Thunder opened a 10-2 lead.
Robbie Glendinning hit his second homer of the tourney, a two-run drive in the fourth off Weiyi Wang.
Panama 2, Italy 0: Jose Ramos homered off loser Michele Vassalotti leading off the second inning and scored on Allen Cordoba’s seventhinning single against Sam Gaviglio. Ramos is hitting .313 (5 for 16).
Italy put runners at the corners in the ninth when Javy Guerra walked Dominic Fletcher leading off and Brett Sullivan singled, but John Valente struck out and Nicky Lopez hit a comebacker that Panama turned into a game-ending double play.
Taiwan 9, Netherlands 5: Yucheng Chang homered off Derek West after Li Lin’s tying RBI single against loser Lars Huijer. Chang hit a two-run homer in the 11-7 victory over Italy and is 6-for-12 with seven RBIS in the tournament.
Winner Tzu-peng Huang gave up two runs — one earned — and two hits in 22⁄3 innings.
Didi Gregorius had two RBIS for the Netherlands, including a first-inning RBI single, and new Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts went 0for-3 with three strikeouts and two walks.
Puerto Rico 9, Nicaragua 1: Francisco Lindor scored twice and hit an RBI single as Puerto Rico won its 2023 WBC debut. Lindor singled and scored in the first inning.
Elian Miranda hit a homer off starter Marcus Stroman in the fifth to tie it at 1. Puerto Rico retook the lead in the bottom half with a fiverun inning against JC Ramirez.