What a night! It was worth staying up for.
Let’s get real, the USA came to the World Baseball Classic with the “Greatest Roster Ever Assembled”, while GB are a plucky bunch who are underestimated and overperform.
The USA’s lineup reads like a fantasy baseball team when the commissioner is a crook who has allowed some very dodgy trades. Never should such talent appear in the same lineup.
Kyle Schwarber ($30 million)
Alex Bregman ($35 million)
Aaron Judge ($40 million)
Bryce Harper ($28 million)
Tarik Skubal ($32 million)
Full disclosure: With Skubal taking the ball, I was worried. I could see him mowing down batter after batter. Never did I contemplate that Nate Eaton would turn on a Skubal first-pitch fastball and pull it for a home run.
GB 1 – 0 USA
It was so unexpected, I had to make sure I wasn’t watching some kind of replay highlight from a different game.
Everyone knows that Tarik Skubal will earn $32 million this year after winning his arbitration battle with the Tigers, but none of us know how much GB’s starter Tyler Viza will get. I’m going to suggest it is less.
Our GB Player Profile described Viza…
Tyler Viza (RHP): One of the throwback workhorses from GB’s earlier campaigns, Viza knows the Classic temperament and never shies from competing. He started GB’s historic win over Colombia – nerves of steel, absolute nerves of steel.
The 31-year-old, originally drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 32nd round of the 2013 MLB Draft, has thrown over 450 innings in the high minors but spent the last couple of seasons pitching in the Mexican League.
In fact, having played professional baseball in four different countries, it’s true that Viza is welcome everywhere.
Calling it “nerves of steel” almost undersells the three remarkable innings the right-hander produced. He negotiated some traffic on the bases, some of the greatest hitters ever coming up to the plate, and some high-pressure counts, but man, he was immense.
After three innings, both teams replaced their starters.
Viza: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 42 pitches
Skubal: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 41 pitches
The grit shown in Viza’s start will remain with me forever.
But it was a team effort. The defence showed the world that GB Baseball is a serious outfit. A great stop, corral, and throw by Ivan Johnson prevented Clement from reaching base, and both Eaton and Thompson made fine outfield catches.
Two GB highlights will get shown on repeat. Eaton’s home run is one, and the other is Trayce Thompson pulling off a home run robbery with one of the greatest catches in WBC history.
When Adam Jones – the holder of the greatest catch in WBC history – raves about it, you know it’s more than just a Web-Gem.
For the USA, Mets’ starter Clay Holmes was unplayable – three innings, one hit, six strikeouts, no runs.
With three-time MVP Aaron Judge leading off the fourth inning, the ball was given to Angels’ prospect Najer Victor. A native of the Virgin Islands, the 24-year-old tossed 20 innings in High-A. This was going to be a challenge.
GB fans know of his skills. The rest of the world was about to find out, as he struck out Judge, Harper and Henderson to kept GB’s lead intact.
Was it a fluke? A one-off lucky inning?
No! At the start of the fifth, he struck out Anthony, and then would have got Clement on a ground out, if not for a fielding error.
And then the game changed.
Tournament baseball for an underdog is unlike any other form of baseball. GB had the lead, and despite enjoying a 55% win probability, everyone knew that it would be a tough ask to shut out this array of stellar hitters. And with the procession of elite bullpen arms at Mark DeRosa’s disposal, scoring runs might be even harder.
So, with Victor on exactly 30 pitches, he was withdrawn to save for Monday’s clash against Mexico.
PCA doubled off new pitcher Andre Scrubb, and Clement, on third, reacted quickly to a wild pitch to tie the score 1-1.
And then the wheels came off.
Two-run SchwarBOMB (427ft).
GB 1-3 USA
New RP Donovan Benoit.
Bregman double.
With first base open, Brad Marcelino opts to pitch to Judge. The Yankees’ captain flies out. Good decision, Skip.
Harper HBP.
Smith walked to load the bases.
Full count before Henderson’s two-run double
GB 1-5 USA
We’re still in the fifth inning. The one that started with Najer Victor striking out Roman Anthony. The Red Sox outfielder came to the plate for the second time in the inning, but grounded out to finally end the inning.
Eaton, who went 3-for-3 in the game, singled and then swiped second, but was ruled out on video replay.
Chavez Fernander was GB’s new pitcher. He was a hero with a clean 1-2-3 inning during GB’s historic win over Colombia in 2023. Against the vastly more potent USA lineup, he started single-walk-walk to load the bases. Bregman’s sac-fly scored a run, and Judge’s single scored another.
This was a never-ending inning as well.
Miles Langhorne was next up for GB. The Brewers prospect is a sports fairytale of signing as an undrafted free agent before dominating Low-A. The 22-year-old racked up 28 strikeouts over 23⅓ innings for the Carolina Mudcats, earning a late-season promotion to High-A.
And now he was facing Bryce Harper. These are pinch yourself moments.
Harper singled, and a Smith sac-fly took the score to eight, and suddenly we were in Mercy Rule territory. The game had flipped so quickly – GB were leading 1-0 at the start of the fifth inning. Now they trailed 8-1 with two outs in the sixth.
Henderson, Harper, and Judge filled the bases, but Langhorne only needed three pitches to strike out Anthony. Take a bow, young man. That cutter was a work of art.
GB posed no problems for Yankees’ closer David Bednar at the top of the seventh, and now the Mercy Rule was just three runs away.
Full disclosure: Many in the Bat Flips & Chat WhatsApp group were keen for the Mercy Rule to cut the game short and preserve GB’s pitchers.
Next on the mound for GB was former Phillies legend Vance Worley. The veteran pitcher made the start in Great Britain’s first-ever WBC game – coincidentally against the USA. He tossed 2 ⅔ innings with three hits, three walks, and zero earned runs.
Now 38 years old, and not having pitched in MLB since 2017, the right-hander came in with the game on the line.
A walk, a single and another Bregman sacrifice fly made the score 9-1.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. With one on and two out, Judge strode to the plate. The 35,000 inside Daikin Park knew one swing would end it, but Worley tossed his 82 mph knuckle-curve which Judge popped up to end the inning.
At the top of the eighth, Griffin Jax threw a quick, clean inning, and before you could catch your breath, Worley was back out there.
Surely, he couldn’t keep the USA from scoring two runs?
Harper and Smith went for the game-winning shot but flew out. And with the bases loaded, Worley struck out PCA to ensure GB would hit in the ninth. And nobody expected that a few innings ago.
It was three-up, three-down for Brad Keller to clinch the victory, finishing with a strikeout of Jazz Chisholm Jr., who has started the WBC going 0-for-9.
There are similarities with the Mexico game, in that GB were mixing it with the big boys for the first half, and then capitulated. That’s a damn sight better than never being in with a shout.
Judge and Schwarber hit 109 home runs between them last season, so it is still absolutely gobsmacking that GB were leading the USA 1-0 going into the fifth inning.
Once again there were so many positives. Great to see Eaton go yard within his 3-for-3. Viza and Worley offered veteran determination. Langhorne and especially Victor offer exciting youthful potential.
We need Jazz to get his bat going. The US pitching was tough, but GB need to get more base runners against Italy on Sunday and Mexico on Monday.
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