Colombian manager talks up Team USA's bullpen strength: "You are fighting against a monster with 15 heads"
Team USA pulled off a historic come-from-behind win against Colombia to secure their place in the last eight of the World Baseball Classic. After an underwhelming start to the tournament, the team is finally finding their footing as they edged Colombia 3-2 in a close game on Wednesday.
With the offense struggling to find runs, the team's defense took matters into its own hands. On this occasion, it was the relievers that stepped up and played a crucial role in ensuring the USA kept their hopes of a second WBC title alive.
Team Colombia manager Jolbert Cabrera was quick to acknowledge the vital contribution the USA relievers made in the high pressure game. He said:
"You are fighting against a monster with 15 heads"
Per a recent article in The Athletic, the former MLB player had no answers against what must have felt like a never-ending stream of talented relievers. He added:
"You cut one down, two more come out and replace the old one"
Team USA may have let the nerves of the occasion get to them as they surrendered an early 2-1 advantage to the Colombians after three innings. The relievers took over from that point on and Colombia did not score a single run after the third.
Mike Trout's single in the fifth inning gave the USA a slender 3-2 advantage, but the game was still too close to call.
And here's my recap of Team USA's win over Colombia. The bullpen was good, Trout and Betts were special, and that was enough. twitter.com/fangraphs/stat…
"And here's my recap of Team USA's win over Colombia. The bullpen was good, Trout and Betts were special, and that was enough." - Michael Baumann
Chicago White Sox pitcher Kendall Graveman made it out of the fourth inning unscathed despite giving up a single. Daniel Bard and David Bednar both did their jobs, while Jason Adam struck out all three hitters he faced. Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams was exceptional in the eighth and Ryan Pressley sealed the deal in the ninth.
Team USA survived a close game versus Team Colombia to keep their hopes of a WBC repeat alive
Team USA's offense has staggered through the tournament in disappointing fashion. The team that many considered favorites to win it all have scored just 26 runs over their four games. Their average of 6.5 runs per game is significantly lower than that of Japan (9.4) and Puerto Rico (7.5).
Team USA has a date with Team Venezuela in the #WorldBaseballClassic quarterfinals. 🇺🇸 https://t.co/J5FH0TGJt6
"Team USA has a date with Team Venezuela in the #WorldBaseballClassic quarterfinals." - World Baseball Classic
While all eyes were on the offense prior to the tournament, it is the pitching that has stood out.
Team USA's defense of their 2017 championship has been uninspiring and lackluster so far. We have only seen glimpses of what this talented team can do. A strong Team Venezuela is next on the schedule and Mark DeRosa's men will need to be at their best if they have any hopes of progressing.