Tag Archives: WBC

22 Mar

classic finish

It will go down as one of the great moments in baseball history. Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout, a 3-2 count, a one-run game, two outs in the ninth in the final game of what had been a fantastic World Baseball Classic. No one on the planet had a better view of this matchup of giants than Lance Barksdale, the veteran MLB ump from Brookhaven. He was behind the plate as Ohtani threw a perfect slider that Trout flailed at in what is being called the strikeout heard ’round the world. Japan won the WBC title, beating the United States 3-2 Tuesday night at Miami’s sold-out loanDepot Park. Barksdale, who has called a lot of big games, seemingly had a good night calling balls and strikes. The Mississippi-connected contingent of players on Team USA’s roster also performed well. Tim Anderson, the ex-East Central Community College star, went 1-for-2 in the finale and batted .333 with five RBIs and three runs in seven games all told. Biloxi Shuckers alum Devin Williams, he of the “Airbender” changeup, threw a scoreless eighth inning Tuesday with two K’s. He didn’t allow a run in four WBC appearances. Mississippi State product Kendall Graveman warmed up Tuesday when Jason Adam was struggling in the sixth but didn’t get in. He pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in two WBC games. And Lance Lynn, the grizzled veteran out of Ole Miss, worked nine innings over two starts, allowing three runs, and Team USA won both games. P.S. In spring training news: Former State standout J.T. Ginn from Brandon threw three scoreless innings for Oakland against the Los Angeles Angels and got the win in his Cactus League debut. Ginn reached Double-A last summer and likely will return there this season. … Madison Central High alum Spencer Turnbull pitched well again, allowing one run (a Josh Donaldson homer) in 4 2/3 innings for Detroit against the New York Yankees. … Ex-Ole Miss star Drew Pomeranz, who missed all of last season with an arm injury, is expected to start 2023 on San Diego’s injured list, per reports. The veteran lefty had a 1.62 ERA out of the pen for the Padres in 2020-21.

14 Mar

job well done

It has been quite the journey for Lance Lynn, who checked off another career achievement on Monday night when he pitched in the World Baseball Classic. The ex-Ole Miss standout delivered a dominant five innings (hitting the 65-pitch limit on the nose) as the United States pummeled Canada 12-1 in a pivotal game. Team USA’s star-studded lineup scored a record nine runs in the first inning against Canada’s overmatched pitchers — a 19-year-old from A-ball and an independent leaguer — and Lynn took it from there, allowing just two hits and fanning six. The 35-year-old Lynn has virtually done it all in the game. He has played in the Little League World Series, won a prep state title with an undefeated team in Indiana, helped Ole Miss win an SEC crown and reach three regionals during his time in Oxford, won a World Series as a rookie with St. Louis, made two All-Star Games and now won a WBC game. Perhaps a WBC title is in the offing. The burly right-hander has 123 MLB wins since 2011 and will be a key figure again in the Chicago White Sox’s rotation this season. P.S. Grae Kessinger, another Ole Miss product, hit his second homer of the spring on Monday for Houston. The grandson of former MLB All-Star Don, Kessinger is 4-for-15 with the world champion Astros in Grapefruit League play. Now 25, the former second-round pick has played in Double-A the last two years with only modest results. … Tampa Bay optioned right-hander Colby White, a Mississippi State alum from Hattiesburg, to Triple-A. White missed all of 2022 with an arm injury.

13 Mar

as the wbc turns

If you’re not paying attention to the World Baseball Classic, you should be. Italy — Italy! — has advanced to the quarterfinals. The Venezuela-Dominican Republic game, loaded with MLB stars, had the feel of a World Series Game 7. Canada put up a record 18 runs in its win on Sunday. And then came Team USA vs. Mexico on Sunday night. Before a very pro-Mexico crowd of 47,534 at Arizona’s Chase Field, former Mississippi Braves standout Joey Meneses blasted two home runs to power the Mexicans to a stunning 11-5 victory. “I have never played in an atmosphere like that,” Patrick Sandoval, an MLB pitcher who plays for Mexico, told mlb.com. Meneses’ story is a great one. Signed by Atlanta in 2011, he played for the Double-A M-Braves in 2017, hitting .292 with nine homers and 45 RBIs. The Culiacan native moved on in 2018, changing organizations three times — and playing 894 minor league games all told — before getting a big league call from Washington last August. He hit an impressive .324 with 13 homers in 56 games as the Nationals’ regular first baseman. Then he took a major star turn on Sunday, driving in five runs to stun Team USA. “I have no words,” Meneses said. East Central Community College product Tim Anderson went 2-for-4 with three RBIs for the U.S., now 1-1 in pool play and facing a virtual must-win game tonight against Canada. Canada (1-0) features former M-Braves star Freddie Freeman and Mississippi State alum Jacob Robson, both of whom had productive games on Sunday. This is worth your attention.