Mexico hand rivals USA heavy defeat in World Baseball Classic
Joey Meneses hit two homers, including a crucial three-run shot in the fourth inning, to lead Mexico to an 11-5 win over the United States in the World Baseball Classic on Sunday at Chase Field.
Meneses got the sellout crowd of 47,534 – most of whom were cheering for Mexico – on their feet in the first inning with his first homer, which gave Mexico a 2-0 lead. Those cheers got even louder in the fourth for his encore, which was a blast deep into the leftcenter seats that brought home Randy Arozarena and Alex Verdugo and made it 7-1.
Meneses hit his first homer off starter Nick Martinez, who took the loss, and the second off Brady Singer. Mexico starter Patrick Sandoval gave up one run over three innings, earning the win.
The 30-year-old Meneses became an unlikely MLB slugger in 2022 after spending over a decade in the minors and playing overseas. He debuted with the Nationals last season, batting .324 with 13 homers in just 222 at-bats.
Mexico kept piling onto the lead in the eighth, sending nine players to the plate and scoring four runs off Daniel Bard to make it 11-2.
The Americans scored three runs in the eighth to make the final outcome more respectable. Tim Anderson had two hits and three RBIs, while Will Smith hit a solo homer. The loss was the second worst by a US team in World Baseball Classic history, and it was Mexico’s third-straight win over the Americans in the tournament.
While Mexico were clearly the better team, the US were hampered by the fact that MLB clubs have requested that their pitchers throw limited innings.
“There’s a lot of honoring parent clubs’ wishes to get these guys ready for the regular season,” DeRosa reiterated. “You’re kind of limited in the number of arms you have down there.”
The top two teams from the group qualify: USA and Mexico sit third and fourth behind Canada and Colombia, who both won their openers. The Americans play Canada and Colombia in their final group games and would advance with two victories.
“It’s win or go home,” USA catcher Will Smith said. “That’s how we’re treating it.”