Team USA score: The USA beats Canada in the World Baseball Classic, with Mike Trott winning a nine-inning first inning.

After Sunday’s loss to Mexico, Monday night’s World Baseball Classic against Canada was a close win for Team USA. They answered the bell. Their powerful offense broke out early, putting nine points on the board in the first half. From there, superstar Lance Lane and the Americans cruised to an easy 12-1 Mercy Rule win (USA 12, CAN 1 in 7 innings).

The WBC’s mercy rule is only in effect for the first round, and games are ended when there is a 15-run lead after five innings or a 10-run lead after seven innings. Also, the tiebreaker depends on the number of runs allowed, so increasing the score is useful. Every run you score against your opponent damages the tie-break situation and can help you move forward.

Here are three notes from USA’s victory over Canada, as well as an outlook on the rest of the first round.

The United States jumped all over Pratt

Team USA needed an early drive Monday night to breathe a little and feel good about things. That loss to Mexico on Sunday was tough. Canada’s lefty, 19-year-old Mitch Pratt, is highly respected with the Rangers, but has been at a disadvantage against them. that USA lineup. Pratt retired only one of the seven batters he faced, and the balby didn’t get any better.

Here’s a summary of the carnage: Mookie Betts single, Mike Trout walk, Paul Goldschmidt walk, Nolan Arenado double-run double-run double, Kyle Tucker sac fly, Tim Anderson walk, JT Realmuto single-run single. Pratt was mercifully pulled at that point, but the USA piled up with Trea Turner’s groundout, Cedric Mullins’ triple, and Mike Trout’s three-run single. The USA led 9-0 after one round.

Can you imagine facing the USA squad at the age of 19? impossible. Pratt threw only nine of his 25 pitches in strikeouts. Canada fed him to the wolves, and the wolves ate well. It should be noted that MLB.com ranks Pratt 17th in the Rangers systemdescribing it as “cerebral and very advanced for his age”. You have better days ahead of you, young man. This was as difficult as the tasks.

Anderson played second base

White Sox All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson was the best player for the United States in a loss to Mexico on Sunday. He went 2-for-4 with a double and drove in three runs. Naturally, that led to Anderson getting another start on Monday, only this time, he played second base at the expense of Trea Turner. It was Anderson’s first time playing second base in the majors or the minors.

“He was a spark in this locker room,” USA coach Mark DeRosa said during an in-game interview with FS1. “… I couldn’t put him in a nutshell but I needed his bat and his presence in this squad.”

If he’s uncomfortable on the other side of the bag, he won’t show it. Anderson handled all of the defensive opportunities with no (major) issues and went 3-for-4 with threes and a walk to the plate. His double in the second half doubled the USA’s lead to 10-1. Realmuto brought Anderson home with a sacrifice fly, and Turner followed with a solo home run. The score was 12-1 USA after two rounds.

Considering how well he does at the plate—Anderson is 5-for-8 with a double and a triple in two games—and how comfortable he looks at second base, my money’s on Anderson in the lineup for Wednesday’s pivotal game with Columbia (sorry, Jeff McNeil). Anderson was a standout performer in a star-studded team with three matches in the WBC.

Lane made it easy for DeRosa

Sunday’s loss to Mexico was a mess in more ways than one. The USA ran through eight pitchers in nine innings pitched, including relatively long outings by Brady Singer and Daniel Bard. With some MLB teams placing restrictions on their pitchers (i.e. no consecutive days), USA head coach Mark DeRosa was in a bit of a bind on Tuesday.

Fortunately, the offense put the game to sleep early, and veteran right fielder Lance Lynn waded deep into the game. Canada was limited to a solo homer in five innings before reaching the WBC pitch limit (65 pitched in the first round). Lin retired 15 of the 17 batters he faced and threw 42 batters between 65 pitches, or 65%. He bombarded the area with the big lead and came away with efficiency.

USA hit the starting pitchers against Great Britain (Adam Wainwright and Kyle Vreeland) and Mexico (Nick Martinez and Singer), and did it again against Canada. Miles Mikolas replaced Lane and retired six of the nine batters he faced before Mercy ruled the game. Mikolas threw 33 pitches. The two veteran right-handers gave the Bulls a much-needed break.

the next

The US team is 2-1 in pool play and Take control of their destiny thanks to Great Britain’s shock victory over Colombia on Tuesday afternoon. The United States advances to the second round by defeating Colombia on Wednesday. Nice and simple. Americans have a day off Tuesday, Then D-Backs righty Merrill Kelly will start against Columbia on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Canada is now 1-1, facing Colombia on Tuesday and Mexico on Wednesday. They never got out of playing pool.

Here are our live updates and analysis as the USA beat Canada.