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

MIAMI — Everything went proper for Team USA in a pivotal eighth inning in opposition to Venezuela, however no swing was extra vital than the one which belonged to the nine-hole hitter. 

Trailing Venezuela by two runs, USA loaded the bases with no one out in opposition to 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 state of affairs. 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.

But first up was Trea Turner, the nine-hole hitter. Turner was shortly down 0-2 in opposition to Bracho, however he hardly let that section him. On the third pitch he noticed, Turner launched a grand slam to left subject and erased the deficit to place the staff up, 9-7, within the eighth inning. 

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 along with his squad. USA hitting coach Ken Griffey Jr. embraced Turner in a hug as the gang roared behind them.

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

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 supervisor Mark DeRosa, each of which led to a four-run rally by Venezuela that, on the time, put USA in a one-run deficit. 

Prior to that game-altering fifth inning, USA was for essentially 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. Before many followers had even discovered their seats, USA put up a 3-0 lead over Pérez and Venezuela, prompting supervisor Omar López to tug the southpaw from his 16-pitch outing.

Make no mistake, Saturday night time’s quarterfinal was an away sport for staff USA. Venezuela obtained the loudest ovations throughout pregame participant introductions as yellow, blue and crimson flags infiltrated loanDepot Park. Despite 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 environment could bode properly for his squad. Trout and Betts particularly had been fired up by their early success in opposition to Pérez.

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

In the tip, 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 assemble himself on the grass off to the aspect of the mound. 

Though he did not document 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, could 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.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB author for FOX Sports. She beforehand coated the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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