Monthly Archives: September, 2009

USA starter Todd Redmond pitched into the 9th inning and held Puerto Rico to just 4 hits and a walk, while striking out 4 batters. �CF Buck Coats (Blue Jays) went 3-for-3 for Team USA, and the three outfielders -- Coats, RF Ike Davis (Mets), and LF Jon Weber (Rays) -- all hit solo homers, accounting for the USA's 3 runs.

Two of the hits Redmond allowed, in the 1st and in the 4th, were quickly erased by double plays. �From the 4th through the 7th innings, Redmond retired 11 of Puerto Rico's batters in order. �Then in the 8th, Redmond got the first out, then allowed a fourth single. �That put him at 91 pitches (69 strikes), and that was the end of his night. �Former Indy Indian Jason Childers (Rays) relieved Redmond, and ended the inning with a strikeout and a fly out. �

The USA batters recorded a total of 8 hits, and worked 5 walks, but left 8 runners on base. �They got onto the scoreboard in the 2nd inning on Ike Davis's home run to right center. �Three walks followed the home run, but two strikeouts ended the inning. �The USA went down in order in the 3rd and 4th. �Then in the 5th with one out, Coats blasted his homer over the right field wall. �

Both Jon Weber and 3B Pedro Alvarez�singled in the 6th inning. �Weber had advanced to second on a ground out, and tried to score on Alvarez's 2-out single, but the throw in from right field was on-target and Weber was out at the plate, ending the inning. �Weber did score on his own home run in the 8th inning. �

Pirate farmhand RJ Rodriguez came on to pitch for Puerto Rico in the 9th inning. �Rodriguez gave up a 2-out walk to Buck Coats, then threw two wild pitches, allowing Coats to move to third base. �The inning ended with Coats still on third, when Rodriguez struck out SS Trevor Plouffe (Twins) to end the inning. �

Team USA remains on top in Pool 2 standings with a 5-0 record. �Canada is second in Pool 2 (3-2). �Cuba leads Pool 1 with a 4-1 record, and the Netherlands is second (3-2). �

In other games:

Team Canada scored 4 runs in the 2nd inning, sparked by 2B Brett Lawrie's triple. �Homers by LF Adam Loewen and 3B Shawn Bowman, and a triple by RF Rene Tosoni added to Canada's runs. � Venezuela's only scoring came in the 7th inning on a 2-run homer by RF Rene Reyes. �Pirates' farmhand Dustin Molleken�did not get to pitch for Canada in the game. �

The starting pitchers dominated for the first 5.5 innings. �Australia's Liam Hendriks scattered 2 hits, no walks, over 6 scoreless innings, while Netherlands' tom Stuifbergen held the Aussies to 2 hits over 5 innings. �

Australia broke through in the bottom of the 6th. �Former Indy Indian LF Chris Snelling�started the inning with a walk off reliever David Bergman, and 3B Luke Hughes homered, to give Australia a 2-0 lead. �

Another former Pirates' farmhand, Paul Mildren, took the mound for Australia to begin the 7th inning, but faced only one batter and gave up a single to another former Pirate, 1B Randall Simon. �Mildren was replaced by Brendan Wise, who gave up a walk, then got a strikeout, before he was in turn replaced by Adam Bright. �A fielder's choice and a throwing error allowed Simon to score, cutting Australia's lead in half. �

The Netherlands scored again in the 8th, on a walk and singles by former Pirate farmhand 3B Yurendell de Caster and Randall Simon (RBI), to tie the score at 2-2. �Australia broke the tie in the 8th. �Two throwing errors on one play allowed 2B Brad Harman to reach third base, and he scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. �Chris Snelling walked for the third time in the game, and a home run by Luke Hughes gave Australia two insurance runs. ���

I'll be away for a few days, but I'll catch up with the finals!

3B Pedro Alvarez hit his 5th home run of the World Cup tournament, and 2B Tug Hulett (Royals) doubled and tripled, to lead Team USA to victory over Venezuela, the only team which has beat the USA in this tournament. �

Brad Lincoln got the start in the USA's first game in the Semi-Final round, and unlike in the first game of the tournament when he pitched against Venezuela, this time he got a decision -- and it was a Win. �Lincoln threw 103 pitches (72 strikes) over 6.2 innings, and he allowed 2 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 3 batters. �Lincoln worked around at least one base runner in each of the first 5 innings, but made use of timely ground outs, strikeouts, and a runner caught stealing to keep the Venezuelans off the scoreboard. �

The USA bats were quiet for the first two innings, but came to life in the 3rd inning, scoring 4 runs as they batted around. �Pedro Alvarez began the inning by striking out, then C Lucas May (Dodgers) walked and stole second base. �May scored when Tug Hulett doubled. �CF Buck Coats (Blue Jays) walked, but was later caught stealing. �SS Trevor Plouffe (Twins) reached base on a fielding error, and Hulett scored on the error. �1B Justin Smoak (Rangers) walked and LF Jon Weber (Rays) singled, to load the bases. �DH Terry Tiffee (Phillies) brought in both Smoak and Plouffe on an RBI single, and Team USA had a 4-0 lead. �

Pedro Alvarez added another run with a solo homer to lead off the 4th inning. �That run was unearned, since Alvarez had lifted a foul ball earlier in the at-bat, which was dropped by the Venezuelan catcher for a missed-catch error. �Team USA scored again in the 6th, on a walk by Hulett and singles by Coats and Plouffe (RBI).

In the 6th, Lincoln gave up a lead-off homer to RF Rene Reyes for Venezuela's first run. �Lincoln got the first two outs in the 7th, then gave up a single to SS Dirimo Chavez, and at that point he was relieved by Cedrick Bowers (Phillies). �Bowers walked the first batter he faced, then gave up an RBI single to Reyes, which brought in Chavez -- the run charged to Lincoln. �Another solo homer, this one off Bowers in the 8th inning, brought Venezuela up to 3 runs. �Nate Field (Marlins) relieved Bowers after an out in the 8th, and he pitched 1.1 innings, allowing a single and 2 walks. �Geno Espinelli (Giants) came in to get the final out, earning the save. �

At this point in the tournament, the 8 remaining teams are divided into Standing Pool 1 (Cuba, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela) and Standing Pool 1 (USA, Canada, Australia, and Taipei). �The standings in these pools take into account results of earlier games between the other teams in the pool. �Since Team USA had beaten Canada, Australia, and Taipei in Round 2, and then won today, USA's record now stands at 4-0. �That puts USA in first place in SP 2, with Canada second (2-2 record) and Australia and Taipei tied (1-3). �Cuba and the Netherlands are tied for first place in SP 1, with 3-1 records. �Puerto Rico has a 2-2 record, and Venezuela is in the basement at 0-4. �Team USA has secured a spot in the medal round this weekend. �

In the other Semi-Final Games:

The Netherlands made short work of Taipei in this game, allowing them only 2 runs on 7 hits. Former Pirate 1B Randall Simon got the Netherlands started with two outs in the 1st inning. �Simon doubled, and after a hit batter and a single, a�walk to DH Sharnol Adriana forced in Simon with the game's first run. �Taipei tied the game in the top of the 2nd with a solo home run, but the Dutch batters came right back at them with 3 runs in the bottom of the inning. �SS Hainley Statia started the rally with a triple, and RF Eugene Kingsale and former Indy Indian 3B Yurendell de Caster�both walked to load the bases. �Randall Simon's single plated both Statia and Kingsale, and C Sidney de Jong's single brought in de Caster. �

Seven runs in the 5th inning broke the game open for the Netherlands, as they sent 12 batters to the plate. �A double, a hit batter, and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third bases, and all the scoring came with two outs. �Yurendell de Caster, Randall Simon, nad Sidney de Jong all singled, with an RBI for each. �An RBI double and two more 2-RBI singles brought the inning's total to 7, and gave the Netherlands an 11-1 lead. �Taipei scored one more run in the 7th inning, but they were no match for the Dutch.

In constrast, these two teams had themselves a pitching duel. �Cuba scored both of their runs in the bottom of the 1st, and both were unearned. �The lead-off batter reached on a fielding error by 1B Stefan Welch (Mets), and he scored on a 2-run homer by RF Alfredo Despaigne. The Australians scored in the 3rd inning, when CF Nicholas Kimpton walked, C Andrew Graham singled into right field, moving Kimpton to third, and and an RBI grounder by SS James Beresford (Twins) plus a throwing error allowed Kimpton to score. �

Australian starter Dushan Ruzic pitched a complete (8 inning) game, allowing that run in the 1st inning and a lone hit in each of the next two innings. �He did not walk anyone and he struck out 3 Cuban batters. �After the double in the 3rd inning, Ruzic retired the next 17 batters to finish the game. �But, the Australian batters were not having much better luck against the Cuban pitchers. �Starter Norge Vera pitched 6.2 innings and allowed the one run on 3 hits and 2 walks, with 7 strikeouts. �Reliever Pedro Lazo earned the save with 2.1 scoreless innings, on 3 hits and 4 strikeouts. �The Aussies had two runners on base in the 7th inning, on a double by Welch and a walk to RF Timothy Kennelly (Phillies), and again in the 9th inning, on singles by Kennelly and Kimpton, but could not get them around to score. �There was also a "light failure delay" in the 8th inning. �Former Indy Indian LF Chris Snelling went 0-for-4 at the plate, �

Four Canadian pitchers, including Pirates' Dustin Molleken,�one-hit Team Puerto Rico in this shut-out win. �Starter Nick Bucci (Brewers) pitched 5 innings, allowing 3 walks in the first 2 innings, then retiring 10 batters in a row. �Trystan Magnuson (Blue Jays) pitched the next 2 innings, and he allowed the lone hit, plus a walk, both in the 7th inning. �Molleken allowed one walk in the 8th inning, and he was credited with the win. �Jimmy Henderson (also Brewers) earned the save by retiring the side in order in the 9th. �

Molleken got the win because Team Canada had not scored at all over the first 8 innings either. �They collected 4 walks over the first 4 innings, but did not have a hit until the 5th inning, when C Chr is Robinson (Cubs) and CF Adam Stern (yet another Brewer) both singled, but were both left stranded on base. �Team Canada also had 2 runners on base in the 6th, when 1b Jimmy Van Ostrand (Astros) doubled and 2B Brett Lawrie (Brewers again) walked, and Chris Robinson singled again in the 7th inning. �Finally, in the top of the 9th, with Molleken still the pitcher of record, Lawrie led off the inning with a solo homer over the left field wall. �Robinson picked up his third single of the game and Stern walked, and both of them scored on RF Rene Tosoni's (Twins) double down the right field line, to give Canada the 3-0 win. �

Pirates' RJ Rodriguez�did not pitch in the game for Puerto Rico. �

The Americans and Australians traded the lead back and forth for 8.5 innings, until they reached a tie in the 7th inning. �Then in the bottom of the 9th, SS Trevor Plouffe (Twins) gave Team USA a sweep of Round Two with a two-out walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning. ��Plouffe and C Lucas May (Dodgers) each had two hits for Team USA, and 1B Justin Smoak (Rangers) also added a home run. �

Team Australia started the scoring in the 2nd inning. �3B Luke Hughes (Twins) led off the inning with a single into left field, and stole second base. �RF Timothy Kennelly (Phillies) moved Hughes to third base with a single to right field. �Hughes scored when Kennelly was caught off first base and stuck in a run-down, allowing Hughes to cross the plate. �USA starter Cory Luebke (Padres) retired the Australians in order over the next three innings. �

Meanwhile, Team USA was putting a runner on base in each inning, but couldn't get them around to score. �Justin Smoak walked in the 1st inning, but he picked was picked off first. �RF Josh Kroeger (White Sox) and Trevor Plouffe both singled, and 2B Tug Hulett (Royals) doubled, but all three were left on base. �In the 5th, 3B�Pedro Alvarez�walked and Lucas May singled, but both were left stranded.

Finally in the 6th inning, Team USA got runners across. �With one out, Justin Smoak blasted a solo home run over the left field wall to tie the game. �Josh Kroeger followed the homer by reaching on a fielding error, and DH Terry Tiffee (Phillies) singled, moving Kroeger on to third. �LF Jon Weber (Rays) grounded to second base for a fielder's choice out, which allowed Kroeger to score the go-ahead run, and the USA was ahead 2-1.

It was a short-lived lead. �Australia came right back with 2 runs in the top of the 7th to re-take the lead. �Luke Hughes and 1B Stefan Welch (Mets) began the inning with back-to-back singles, and that sent Cory Luebke to the showers. �He had pitched 6 innings (plus 2 batters), allowing 5 hits and a walk, with 5 strikeouts. �Luebke was responsible for the run that scored in the 2nd inning, and he was also charged with the two unearned runs in the 7th. �Former Indy Indian�Jason Childers�(Rays) came into the game to relieve Luebke, and he first faced Timothy Kennelly. �Kennelly grounded to third for a fielder's choice. �A throwing error by Pedro Alvarez allowed Hughes to score the tying run, and moved Welch to third base. �DH Daniel Berg's (Twins) sacrifice fly brought in Welch, and the Aussies had the lead again, 3-2. �

Their lead didn't last long either. �Lucas May began a rally for Team USA in the bottom of the frame with a double into right field. �Tug Hulett walked, and a sacrifice bunt by CF Buck Coats (Blue Jays) moved both runners up 90 feet. �Trevor Plouffe's ground out brought in May, to tie the score again, at 3-3. �

Jason Childers retired the Aussies in order in the 8th inning. �Pedro Alvarez singled in the bottom of the inning, but was left on base. �Childers came out to begin the 9th, and was relieved after he gave up a lead-off double to Luke Hughes. �Geno Espineli (Giants) took over for Childers and struck out the only batter he faced. �Ehren Wasserman (White Sox) stepped onto the mound next, and gave up a walk, but got two outs to end the inning and preserve the tie.

That set up the bottom of the 9th. �After two ground outs, Trevor Plouffe was the hero with a solo blast over the left field wall for the walk-off win. �

�

One more Round Two game:

Italy 7, Netherlands Antilles 6

That concludes Round Two play. �The top four teams in each of the two pools will now proceed to the Semi-Final Round. �

From Pool F: �

Cuba (6-1 record in Round Two)

Netherlands (6-1)

Puerto Rico �(6-1)

Venezuela (3-4)

From Pool G:

USA��(7-0 record in Round Two)

Australia (5-2)

Canada (5-2)

Taipei �(5-2)

Each team will play the four teams from the other pool in the Semifinal Round. �Team USA will begin Semifinal Round play against Venezuela on Tuesday. �Venezuela is the only team to have defeated Team USA in this tournament -- in the first game of the first round. �

The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place teams from each group play against each other on Saturday, and the top team in each group face off for the championship game on Sunday.

Go USA!

Four home runs sparked Team USA to a victory over Team Italy tonight, continuing USA's winning record in Round Two of the 2009 World Baseball Cup. �

3B Pedro Alvarez was the only USA batter to reach base in the first two innings, when he walked in the 2nd inning. �Team USA scored in the 3rd inning, when DH Justin Smoak (Rangers) homered after CF Buck Coats (Blue Jays) walked and SS Trevor Plouffe singled. �Coats homered in the 4th inning, bringing in 2B Tug Hulett (Royals), who had singled. �

USA starter Kasey Kiker (Rangers) pitched 3 innings, and allowed an unearned run in the 3rd inning on a walk, a throwing error by c Jason Castro (Astros), and an RBI single. �Kiker opened the 4th inning with 3 consecutive walks, and he was relieved by Lucas Harrell (White Sox). �Harrell walked the first batter he faced, forcing in a run, and then got a double play, which allowed the runner from third base to score. �Those runs were both charged to Kiker, and the USA still led 5-3. �Harrell went on to pitch 2 more scoreless innings. �

Team USA picked up three more in the 5th inning. �Justin Smoak led off with his second home run of the game. �LF Jon Weber (Rays) doubled, and 1B Ike Davis (Mets) singled, putting runners on the corners. �Weber scored on Pedro Alvarez's RBI single into right field, and Davis scored on Jason Castro's single into right center field, and the USA had an 8-3 advantage. �In the 7th inning, Davis led off with a walk, and Alvarez followed with a single down the right field line. �Both scored on Tug Hulett's triple, and Hulett scored on an RBI single by Coats. �Trevor Plouffe capped off Team USA's scoring with a solo home run in the top of the 9th. �

Cedrick Bowers (Phillies) came on to pitch the 7th inning for Team USA, and he struck out the side. �He also got a ground out to begin the 8th inning, and was relieved by another Phillies' reliever, BJ Rosenberg. �Rosenberg walked the first batter he faced, and the next batter reached on Rosenberg's own throwing error, but he took care of the problem by himself too, but striking out the next two batters. �He also retired the side in the 9th, with two more strikeouts. �

Team USA now has a 6-0 record in the second round of the tournament. �

Other Pool G Games �(played in Italy):

Mexico took advantage of a fielding error to score an unearned run in the 2nd inning, and scored two more in the 4th inning on a solo home run, a double, and an RBI single. �Australia came back in the 5th inning, to tie the score on a 3-run homer by DH Brad Harman (Phillies). �Harman also scored the tie-breaking run in the 7th inning. �He walked with 2 outs, and scored on former Indy Indian LF Chris Snelling's double. �3B Luke Hughes (Twins) followed with another double, bringing in Snelling. �RF Timothy Kennelly�(Phillies) doubled to lead off the 8th inning, moved to third base on a bunt single by C Andrew Graham, and scored on SS James Beresford's (Twins) RBI grounder, giving Australia another insurance run. �That run came in handy in the 9th inning. �Former Pirate farmhand Paul Mildren pitched two innings for Australia, allowing only one hit, to keep Mexico scoreless in the 7th and 8th inning. �He was relieved by Matthew Williams (Twins), who gave up a single and a 2-run homer to open the 9th inning. �Adam Bright (Rockies) relieved Williams, and Bright gave up a single, then got a ground out, which moved the base runner to second base. �Brendan Wise (Tigers) relieved Bright on the mound, and he got a ground out, allowing the runner to move on to third base, then hit the next batter with a pitch. �Finally, Timothy Cox relieved Wise, and got a fly out to end the inning and the game, and earn the save too. �

Canada was playing catch-up until the bottom of the 6th inning. �Taipei scored a run in the 3rd inning, and Canada tied it up with a solo homer by RF Rene Tosoni (Twins) in the 4th inning. �Taipei scored 2 runs in the top of the 5th on a solo homer, a single, and an RBI double. �Canada responded in the bottom of the inning with back-to-back doubles by LF Adam Loewen (Orioles) and C Cole Armstrong (White Sox), a walk to Tosoni, and an RBI single by 3B Shawn Bowman (Mets). �Rain delayed the game between the 5th and 6th innings, with the score tied at 3-3. �They were able to play the 6th inning, with Taipei going down in order in the top of the inning. In the bottom of the inning, Brett Lawrie (Brewers) walked, stole second base, and scored on Loewen's RBI single. �Loewen scored on Armstrong's second RBI double of the game. �The rain came again after the 6th inning, and the game was called, giving Canada the win. �Pirates' Dustin Moelleken did not pitch. �

Pool F Games (played in Netherlands):

Cuban pitchers held the Dutch batters to just 4 hits in the Netherlands' first loss in Round 2. �Cuba and the Netherlands are now tied with a 6-1 record in Pool F. �

A 3-RBI double gave Cuba a 3-0 lead in the top of the 3rd inning. �A solo homer and a walk followed by another RBI double added 2 more runs in the 8th inning. �The Netherlands got onto the scoreboard with a solo home run by 2B Sharlon Shoop in the 3rd inning, and added two more with a 2-run blast by SS Hainley Statia in the 8th. �Former Pirates' 3B Yurendell de Caster and 1B Randall Simon both were hitless in the game. �

Two walks and two wild pitches handed Venezuela a run in the first inning, and another walk and another wild pitch contributed to a second run for Venezuela in the 4th. �Five singles and a 2-RBI double brought in 4 more runs in the 7th inning. �Great Britain was held scoreless until the top of the 9th, when three straight two-out singles brought in Great Britain's lone run. Former Pirate farmhand SS Brant Ust went 0-for-3 with a walk. �Tom Boleska did not pitch in this game. �

Puerto Rico's 8-run 6th inning, including 7 singles and two walks, was the big inning, as the Puerto Ricans overwhelmed Nicaragua. �Pirates' farmhand RJ Rodriguez did not pitch today. �