Trea Turner grand slam leads USA over Venezuela and into WBC semifinal

MIAMI — Every part went proper for Crew USA in a pivotal eighth inning towards Venezuela, however no swing was extra essential than the one which belonged to the nine-hole hitter. 

Trailing Venezuela by two runs, USA loaded the bases with no person out towards left-hander José Quijada. Tim Anderson drew a stroll, Pete Alonso hit a pinch-hit single and J.T. Realmuto was hit by a pitch. 

Venezuela supervisor Omar Lopez changed Quijada with right-hander Silvino Bracho, who was strolling right into a nightmare scenario. Not solely would Bracho try and get his first hitter out, however looming proper behind him was the highest of the USA order, that includes none apart from Mookie Betts and Mike Trout.

However first up was Trea Turner, the uber gifted nine-hole hitter who emphasizes simply how deep USA’s lineup is. Turner was shortly down 0-2 towards Bracho, however he hardly let that section him. On the third pitch he noticed, Turner launched a grand slam to left area and erased the deficit to place the group up, 9-7, within the eighth inning. Later, Turner mentioned the grand slam was his highest particular person achievement in baseball — and that claims so much coming from a man who has recorded 44 hits in 27 profession playoff video games. 

“Probably the loudest game I’ve ever played in,” Turner mentioned. “Today was electric and just as good as those World Series games.”

USA’s dugout erupted as gamers leaped over the dugout railing and virtually flew to the plate to obtain Turner. As his teammates waited in a half-circle at residence plate, Turner saluted them earlier than leaping up and down and celebrating together with his squad. USA hitting coach Ken Griffey Jr. embraced Turner in a hug as the gang roared behind them. All of it added as much as probably the most emotion we had seen from USA thus far within the event.

Earlier than the sport, USA supervisor Mark DeRosa held a group assembly in regards to the “hostile environment” they have been strolling into and instructed his gamers to match Venezuela’s ardour. 

“When Trea clipped that ball, honestly, I saw about 35 guys, including the coaches, kind of black out and lose their minds for a minute,” mentioned DeRosa.

USA by no means regarded again after Turner’s majestic residence run, knocking Venezuela out of the World Baseball Basic with a 9-7 win on Saturday night time at loanDepot Park. Crew USA will play Cuba within the WBC semifinals on Sunday night time in Miami with veteran Adam Wainwright taking the hill.

Turner’s residence run was the third USA grand slam in WBC historical past, as he joined Jason Varitek (2006) and David Wright (2013). USA’s offense overcame right-hander Daniel Bard’s shaky fifth-inning reduction outing and questionable in-game technique by DeRosa, each of which led to a four-run rally by Venezuela that, on the time, put USA in a one-run deficit. Bard additionally hit Jose Altuve by a pitch, forcing Venezuela’s star second baseman to go away the sport with an obvious proper hand harm.

Previous to that game-altering fifth inning, USA was for probably the most half in full management of the sport.

USA had knocked Venezuela lefthander Martín Pérez out of his begin after simply 5 batters. Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and Kyle Tucker ripped 5 consecutive hits off Pérez to open the highest of the primary inning. Earlier than many followers had even discovered their seats, USA put up a 3-0 lead over Pérez and Venezuela, prompting supervisor Omar López to drag the southpaw from his 16-pitch outing.

Make no mistake, Saturday night time’s quarterfinal was an away sport for group USA. Venezuela acquired the loudest ovations throughout pregame participant introductions as yellow, blue and crimson flags infiltrated loanDepot Park. Regardless of the pregame hysteria, the vast majority of the stadium was quieted as US hitters hustled across the bases to rally in that first inning. DeRosa, hours earlier than first pitch, had acknowledged that the away-game ambiance might bode properly for his squad. Trout and Betts particularly have been fired up by their early success towards Pérez.

However the ballpark roared again to life simply seven Lance Lynn pitches later when Luis Arráez crushed a two-run residence run, chopping Venezuela’s deficit to 3-2 within the first inning. Venezuela’s quick response to USA foreshadowed the tug-of-war battle between the squads.

“I wanted our guys when we got rolling to come out of the dugout and send a message that we were going to match their energy,” DeRosa mentioned.

Ultimately, it was Lynn who gave the gutsiest efficiency of the night time, if solely as a result of it was apparent from the opening body that the right-hander did not have his finest stuff on Saturday. Lynn labored all through his outing, taking ample time between pitches to collect himself on the grass off to the facet of the mound. 

Although he did not report a single clear inning, Lynn did a strong job of limiting the injury after Arráez’s first inning residence run. When Lynn knew his sixteenth batter of the night time, Eugenio Suarez, can be his final, he barreled down and struck Suarez out with a excessive heater to finish the fourth inning. Lynn erupted with a howl and a fist bump earlier than his teammates lined as much as high-five him within the dugout.

“It doesn’t matter who is pitching, who is closing the game, who is hitting third, it doesn’t matter,” Turner mentioned. “It’s about winning the game. So I’m just glad we came out on top.”

Although DeRosa managed Saturday’s quarterfinal like there was no tomorrow, he admitted it will likely be a late night time for him and his teaching employees as they put together to face Cuba. USA used six relievers, together with high-leverage arms Devin Williams and Ryan Pressly, to close down Venezuela. DeRosa must get inventive with bullpen utilization on Sunday to piggyback what he hopes can be an prolonged outing from Wainwright.

However when it comes to ambiance? If Saturday’s quarterfinal was rowdy, Sunday’s semifinal with Cuban followers within the constructing could also be downright thunderous. A number of group USA gamers, together with Turner and Betts, had misplaced their voices by the top of the night time amidst the celebrating and yelling over the gang noise. USA is aware of it should as soon as once more play the position of the villainous away group towards Cuba, but it surely’s a sense the group is wanting ahead to embracing once more.

“This is pretty much an all-time high, so I’m looking forward to another game like this,” Betts mentioned.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB author for FOX Sports activities. She beforehand coated the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Day by day Information. Comply with her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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