Team USA tops Columbia in World Baseball Classic

But Team USA only has itself to blame for being in this position.

The US did not expect much of a struggle from Colombia, one of the lowest-ranked teams in the tournament.

That clash of styles was certainly on display at Marlins Park, and I’m left with the images of the joy of the Dominican team and their fans, and the understanding that we can and should play baseball both ways – with passion and bat flips and smiles as wide as the Caribbean, and with earnestness and respect and pride of hard work. That is to say that the money motivation in baseball remains centered on MLB itself in America, and as far as MLB’s actual teams are concerned the WBC is relegated to a spring training exhibition distraction.

Should they lose, they can still clinch a spot outright if the United States (1-1) loses its game at 7 p.m. against Canada (0-2). He then gave up a double to Castillo that pulled the D.R. within 5-3.

Team USA held its destiny in its hands.

In its next game, the US lost 7-3 to South Korea, with Willis again taking the loss.

If this is how Sunday’s action goes down, then Pool C would have three teams tied at 1-2.

Daniel Murphy(tonight’s DH) is also on the U.S. roster as a second baseman, so it’s possible that Kinsler will sit out Saturday’s game while Murphy rotates into the field. There are plenty of good options the Dominicans could go with, to face this Colombian lineup. Marte had three hits, and Carlos Santana added a pair.

COLOMBIA 4, CANADA 1: Julio Teheran threw five solid innings to help Colombia beat Canada at Miami. The sentence was suspended for two years. Hansel Robles, Alex Colome and Jeurys Familia combined to face the minimum over the final three innings to give the bats an opportunity to take the lead. When the count got to two strikes, they hit.132 and struck out 65 percent of the time. Andrew Miller was handed a two-run lead and asked to get six outs. But at the same time, baseball badly needs an worldwide competition, and this one has been terrific.

White Sox starter Jose Quintana tossed five ideal innings to start the game for Colombia, and gave up one hit and one run over five-and-two-thirds innings. The lack of support didn’t stop Team USA from putting on an impressive show early, but the Dominican Republic rode the wave of energy that built throughout its comeback to avoid its first WBC defeat since 2009. Puerto Rico notched an exciting win over Mexico. The result of all that shakiness was US manager Jim Leyland being forced to use six relievers to get through the final six innings, though he at least has a fully rested Miller, as well as White Sox closer David Robertson, in reserve for Saturday’s tilt with the Dominican Republic.

The Dominican Republic (2-0 in the opening round) extended its winning streak in the event to 10 games dating to its triumph in 2013. As noted above, for those with a Nationals-related rooting interest, Tanner Roark is going to piggy-back-start after Marcus Stroman is done on the mound. With Figueroa out of the game after the sixth due to the tournament’s pitch limits, the USA rallied to get within 4-3.

The Dominican Republic – ironically enough led by the Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista – mashed Canada, 9-2, in their World Baseball Classic opener Thursday in Miami.

Do you really think this tournament isn’t meaningful to Israel?

The World Baseball Classic debut for Roark was not a memorable one.