The erratic yet highly experienced Spanish team halted Great Britain’s road to European Championship gold with an emphatic 7-0 victory in the quarter-final.
It was one of those occasions where everything went right for Spain, while GB’s day started going pear-shaped in the third inning.
Don’t get me wrong, this was not a lucky win. Spain deserves its spot in the semi-final. They had done their homework on the Great Britain lineup and executed the game plan to perfection.
Following on from his impressive nine-strikeout performance in the opening game against the Netherlands, Nick Wells got the start for GB. The left-hander, originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the third-round of the 2014 draft, looked assured on the mound, boosting the confidence of the travelling GB fans.
After two clean innings of work by Wells, the mood within the British contingent was even more optimistic. After all, we had seen Spain get demolished by Czechia earlier in the week, having been unable to deal with the Czech’s controlled approach. Even though the wind was bitterly cold in the exposed viewing area of Field 2, life was good.
And then it wasn’t.
The third inning started like this: single, single, single.
Bases loaded.
One of the last people you wanted to see come to the plate was the 2023 European Championship MVP Wander Encarnacion. He, too, made contact, but Nick Ward corralled the ball at third base to throw out Frank Hernandez at the plate. Great work by catcher Will Cresswell btw.
Bases still loaded.
It is worth noting that the umpire’s strike zone was inconsistent. I never criticise the officials. It’s certainly a job that I would not want or be able to do, but the unreliability of calls definitely affected Wells.
The third inning continued like this: walk, walk, walk.
Bases still loaded, but now the score was 3-0 to Spain, and the Spanish dugout was in party mood.
Side note: The other day, I mentioned to the Spanish hitting coach that his team were dreadful against Czechia, swinging at everything. Today, they had developed Juan Soto‘s patience at the plate. I don’t take responsibility for Spain’s change of approach. Well, not full responsibility, anyway.
Next to the plate was Carlos Colmenarez. Back in 2021, the Tampa Bay Rays splashed big international free agent cash on Colmenarez, and I mean $3 million big.
It’s fair to say that the career path for the Venezuelan hasn’t panned out as expected. This year, the “next Asdrubal Cabrera” hit .208 for Bowling Green Hot Rods, the Rays’ High-A affiliate.
But on a breezy evening in Rotterdam, Colmenarez delivered a hard line drive to deep left field, scoring another. Kudos to Matt Ward in the outfield for limiting the damage to just one run.
Bases still loaded. Great Britain went to the bullpen and called upon Ryan Long to keep them in the game.
He extinguished the Spanish fire that threatened to torch GB’s Euro campaign with a composed outing. Every pitch was a potential four-run game-changer. Spain added a solitary extra run on a wild pitch/passed ball, and GB walked back to the dugout, battered, bruised and down 5-0.
I couldn’t find out much about the Spanish starter, Pablo Guillén. His Baseball Reference page notes a 27-year-old from Cuba, whose last season in organised ball was a single appearance in the Venezuelan Winter League in 2024, where he allowed four runs with three walks… in one inning before getting pulled.
The only other thing I knew about Guillén was that he struck out seven over five scoreless innings against Sweden earlier this week.
An immediate GB response looked possible when Chris Bear singled and Matt Ward walked, but untroubled, Guillén got three quick outs to keep Spain’s 5-0 lead intact.
In many ways, it seemed like men against boys. The Spanish had long-time Mets’ infielder Luis Guillorme playing second base, for goodness sake.
In February’s WBC qualifier, Guillorme was on the Spanish roster until the Astros signed him to a last-minute free-agent deal with an invitation to Spring Training. In a tournament of small margins, Guillorme’s absence could have been the difference between Spain progressing to next year’s WBC and finishing third in the group behind Chinese Taipei and Nicaragua.
Continuing with the men against boys analogy, Ryan Long settled nicely, retiring eight in a row and generally looking like the adult in the room.
Guillén’s swagger on the mound appeared to earn him a few extra strike calls, but the kryptonite was his offspeed offerings that GB could not lay off. Baseball is so easy to play from the stands.
Donovan Benoit replaced Long, and Spain contrived a small-ball run with a wild pitch to take the score to 6-0.
Top of the sixth, and Great Britain started with the top of their lineup. This was the time to break into action. Max Viera singled, Nick Ward doubled, and after Will Cresswell had struck out looking, Charlie Collins walked to load the bases.
Come on GB!
Four runs would get Great Britain right back in it. Two or three runs would boost confidence for the final few innings. Even one run would be a start, but the big hit never came.
GB’s bases-loaded threat fizzled out when Guillén struck out Quinn Allen, looking at a pitch that seemed way too low, and then Julian Sanders – the tournament’s hit leader coming into the game – flew out to Guillarme.
Just like that, the Spanish were heading back to their dugout with their lead intact and their confidence at a game-high.
Reverting to their favoured swing-and-miss approach, the Spanish hitters were held to a scoreless seventh by Benoit and then a scoreless eighth by Zach Cameron.
A GB error gifted Spain a seventh run, leaving it to Allen, Sanders, and pitch-hitter Michael Flaherty to salvage the situation against veteran closer Rhiner Cruz. The 38-year-old shut the door and sent the Spanish into a semi-final under lights on Friday evening against the Netherlands.
Side note: The Tannoy announcer had not realised GB were sending in a pinch hitter, so announced Cole Leclair. The GB fans, in desperate need of some last-gasp excitement, urged the hitter at the plate with calls of “Let’s go, Cole!”, much to the consternation of Michael Flaherty‘s mother in the stands.
What did I say about the need to build a greater relationship between the GB players and GB fans? If you don’t know, check out the opening paragraphs on the player profile pages – infielders, outfielders, catcher & designated hitters. I am convinced that getting British fans invested in the players is a major step to growing the game in the UK. If the travelling fans can’t tell the players apart, what hope is there for casual fans at home?
And so it is over for another tournament. Sure, there is the fifth-to-eighth playoffs ahead, but the big prize has gone.
Despite the disappointment as I type up this article, I was thrilled to see the potential on the GB roster. The talent among this youthful group of players is unquestionable. The average age of the outfield trio was 23 years old. Imagine how good these guys will be in a couple of years.
The semi-final lineup shows no surprises. Three WBC-bound teams, in Italy, Czechia, and the Netherlands, plus the reigning European Champions, Spain.
It was very much deja vu from Brno when Spain defeated GB in the 2023 final. The disappointment of losing was actually lessened by the fact that both games were so one-sided. Losing a close game always hurts more.
Next up for GB is a clash against the ebullient Croatian team, still bubbling from their narrow 3-1 loss to the vastly more experienced Dutch side last night. First pitch of Great Britain’s game is 5:00pm (UK time) on Friday 26 September.
It’s not the medal round, but it’s still a chance to remind Europe that British baseball is more than tea, rain delays, and heroic near-misses. Catch it all, as ever, on BaseballEurope.tv.
Featured image by @honkbalsoftbalnl
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