PHOENIX — Team USA went into the game against Colombia on Wednesday knowing that a win would earn them a spot in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic. In a lineup crammed with superstars and a handful of likely future Hall of Famers, it was again captain Mike Trout who led the way, going 3-on-4 with all three RBIs as the US punched their ticket to Miami into his then to be the last team standing with a 3-2 win.
“I just think at the end of the day he’s one of the greatest players of all time,” manager Mark DeRosa said of Trout. “He got away with 16, 17 at-bats in spring training and nobody’s like that mid-season but I think some of those games that we’ve played – Mexico woke us up. He had some great ABs in the Canada game. The ball he hit on the right to start was something very special. He looks really good on the court. He’s just super confident in what he can do.”
The aforementioned ball on the right came in the first inning at chase field, a 112.5 mph laser that hit the right center fence in no time. Trout rocketed into third and set the tone for his next two times: an RBI single in third that opened the scoring and a two-run knock in fifth that gave the USA the lead.
Trout has formed a dynamic tandem at the top of the US order with Mookie Betts, who himself had a multi-hit performance. All four balls Betts put in play were rated “hard hit” (north of 95+ mph) and he was twice the beneficiary of a Trout Run scoring knock.
“All I have to do is get to base and I’ve got him behind me,” Betts said. “I know I’ll be getting pitches to score, they don’t want to take me to him with anyone on base. It’s just fun when you take off your uniform and play for your boy.”
Next up for the United States is a clash with Venezuela (Sat, 7:00 p.m. ET, FOX), which has made its way through Pool D. From that point forward, all 2023 World Baseball Classic games will be single-elimination, meaning the USA must have three straight wins to be crowned champion.
In 2013, David Wright earned the nickname “Captain America” for serving as the US offensive engine during the World Baseball Classic. In 2023, the Captain is another fan favorite at Trout, one who convinced a historic group of talent to band together with hopes of becoming consecutive champions on the global stage.
In four games, the numbers have drawn between the two parallels:
Wright: 7-for-16, 1 HR, 10 RBIs, .438/.526/.750
Trout: 5-for-12, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, .417/.588/.833
“I knew the atmosphere was going to be electric when I signed up,” Trout said. “I talked to [Adam] Wainwright about it during the game [against] Canada. This is the funniest experience I’ve ever had on a baseball field – representing your country. It was a great time.
“When you hear ‘US-A’ chanted in the ninth inning, you look out into the stands and people wave the American flag – it means a lot to all of us. Playing for our country was really fun.”
Despite all the focus on the All-Stars, Silver Sluggers and MVPs dotting the starting nine, the fact that Team USA assembled a bullpen unit full of fireballs and takedown weapons has largely gone under the radar. But in a one-run affair, the group of Kendall Graveman, Daniel Bard, David Bednar, Jason Adam, Devin Williams and Ryan Pressley held the line and held the Colombian lineup to just two singles with nine strikeouts over six dominant frames.
“It depends on the players. They can sit up all night and script it, plan it — they have to execute it,” DeRosa said. “Could they have done [any] better? Devin Williams threw one [prior] Pitch the entire pool game and looked mid season. David Bednar’s heater explodes. Jason Adam has electric guns to go to. It was nice to see Bard get back on his feet. And Pressly has been in the big leagues in the biggest moments, the last seems like five, six years. Just awesome domination and execution by these guys.”
For Colombia (1-3), the defeat is a disappointing end to a 2023 classic that started in promising fashion. Despite the lone win over Group C winners (Mexico, 3-1), Colombia are yet to enter the qualifying stage in hopes of returning to the WBC in 2026. Great Britain (1-3), whose Cinderella history led It has earned a spot in Arizona and qualified for the next edition of the World Baseball Classic by beating Colombia on Monday.
The sheer level of veteran major league talent the US squad boasts made it difficult for all four opposing managers to combat in pool play. Colombian skipper Jolbert Cabrera was proud of his team’s performance and excited to continue being a part of baseball’s growth in his country, but he aptly described the conundrum of going up against a squad as skilled as the Americans.
“In today’s game, you’re fighting a monster with 15 heads,” Cabrera said through an interpreter. “You cut off one, two more come out to replace the old one.”