After last night’s 13-5 thumping at the hands of Team Mexico, it was evident that Monday night’s game against Canada was a must-win for the Stars and Stripes. Not only did the Americans need to win this game, but Team USA also needed to win it big because of the possibility of needing a tiebreaker to move to the quarter-finals.
Mark DeRosa made a perfect choice when he selected bulldog Lance Lynn to start this must-win game. Lynn is a veteran pitcher who is an absolute horse on the mound and looked to be the perfect guy to start this game for the Stars and Stripes.
Unlike the previous two games, the United States could not have gotten off to a much better start. Lance Lynn came out and pitched a 1-2-3 top of the first with two strikeouts to set the tone and the offense did not disappoint in the bottom half of the inning.
Things got ugly very quickly for 19-year-old Mitch Bratt who started the game for Team Canada. Immediately the US had the bases loaded three batters in when Nolan Arenado continued his hot start to the tournament with a two-RBI double to put the Americans up 2-0.
It only got worse for Mitch Bratt who would be pulled from the game after recording just one out which was a sac fly from Kyle Tucker. Bratt’s final line on the night would be 0.1 IP 3 H 6ER.
The night was not much better for R.J. Freure who was Canada’s next pitcher. An RBI triple from Cedric Mullins and a three-run jimmy jack from Mike Trout who was batting for the second time in the inning gave the US a nine spot on the scoreboard in just the first inning.
Canada would get one back instantly on a solo home run from Jared Young but that run wouldn’t matter much. Team USA would instantly get that run back and some. Tim Anderson continued his hot streak with an RBI triple and Tre Turner absolutely crushed a baseball to up the Stars and Stripes up 12-1.
After last night’s less-than-stellar performance from Team USA’s pitching staff Lance Lynn was a breath of fresh air for the Americans. Lynn went five innings giving up just two hits and one run with six strikeouts.
This game would end early tonight as the run rule came into play with the Americans up 12-1 after 7 innings. In a must-win game for Team USA, they came out and dominated.
With every single team in Pool C now sitting at 1-1 on the tournament, Team USA is now exactly where they want to be to advance to the quarterfinals.
