Crew USA is thru to the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Traditional with a 3-2 win over Colombia on Wednesday, making up for a significant stumble towards Mexico with back-to-back wins.
The People end second in Pool C at 3-1, tied with Mexico however dropping the head-to-head tiebreaker. They may face Venezuela within the quarterfinals Saturday in Miami (FS1).
U.S. captain Mike Trout got here by way of with all three of his group’s RBIs, going 3-for-4 with a triple on the evening. The go-ahead hit got here within the fifth inning, with the Los Angeles Angels star knocking in Will Smith and Mookie Betts to present USA a 3-2 lead.
The American bullpen held it down from there, with Kendall Graveman, Daniel Bard, David Bednar, Jason Adam, Devin Williams and Ryan Pressly all throwing scoreless innings after starter Merrill Kelly allowed two runs within the third.
Advancing to the quarterfinals may’ve appeared inevitable given the energy of the U.S. lineup, however the defending champions had been in a tenuous place after a tough 11-5 loss to Mexico of their second sport. The U.S. discovered itself needing to beat each Canada and Colombia, with a bizarre tiebreaker looming if they lost Wednesday.
Crew USA reaches the World Baseball Traditional bracket
The U.S. was the ultimate group to make the bracket portion of the WBC, carefully following Puerto Rico after its upset win over the Dominican Republic in a de facto elimination game earlier Wednesday.
Pool A winner Cuba has already superior to the semifinals with a win over Pool B runner-up Australia. Pool B winner Japan will face Pool A runner-up Italy, and Mexico will face Pool D runner-up Puerto Rico. As issues stand, the U.S. would face Cuba if it will get previous Venezuela.
Venezuela, led by MLB stars Jose Altuve and Ronald Acuña Jr., figures to be a more durable problem than something the U.S. noticed in pool play, and the protection internet that saved the People after the Mexico loss is now gone.
The win Wednesday vs. Colombia means the U.S. continues its streak of advancing out of pool play, which it has finished in each World Baseball Traditional for the reason that inaugural 2006 match. However all these MLB All-Stars possible agreed to play with a back-to-back championship in thoughts, and now issues are about to get harder.
