San Francisco Giants: Posey and Crawford Heating Up as USA advances
As Team USA moves on to the second round in the WBC, San Francisco Giants’ stars Posey and Crawford are heating up with the bats.
The United States WBC team needed a victory to avoid playing a tie-breaker, and they came through in a big way. Against their Canadian counterparts, five American pitchers combined to blank the opponents, while the offense broke out for eight runs on 11 hits. In the much-needed win, a pair of San Francisco Giants’ hitters made their contributions to the victory.
Buster Posey, the Giants’ catcher who is known for getting off to slow starts in spring that can bleed over into the regular season, wasn’t hitting much early in Spring Training or in the first WBC game. The former National League MVP came up with a pair of hits, bringing in three runs to help secure the victory for his country.
After going hitless in an extra-inning win in game one against Colombia , Posey did his part to add a run in the team’s three-run first inning against Canada. With the bases loaded, Posey grounded a ball up the middle, bringing home a run on a groundout. His second at-bat was much better, lashing a single through the hole on the left side of the infield to bring home Eric Hosmer. That capped off a four-run second inning, giving the United States’ team a commanding 7-0 advantage.
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In his third at-bat, Posey put the finishing touches on the 8-0 victory, getting around on a fastball on the inside of the plate and crushing it towards the weird fish tower structure in center field of Miami’s home park.
Crawford’s bat has been hot since donning the red, white, and blue uniforms, and he kept it up on Sunday night. Leading off the third inning, he kept his weight back and waited beautifully on a hanging curveball from Canadian pitcher Scott Richmond, smoking a double off the wall in center field and missing a round-tripper by a few feet. He was stranded, unfortunately, but added another double in the seventh two batters after Posey’s longball. This time, he slashed it the other way, dropping it just inside the left-field foul line and finding himself standing on second again. He would also be stranded there, again.
Eric Hosmer opened the scoring for the American club, scoring a pair of runs in the first inning with a double. The game’s big blow came from perennial Giant killer Nolan Arenado, when he smashed a three-run home run in the second inning to break open a six-run lead. Danny Duffy was masterful in his four innings of work on the mound, allowing two hits while striking out seven.
Group C, the pool that housed the American team, was known as the “Group of Death”, for their juggernaut lineups. The Dominican Republic team went undefeated in their three first-round games, including an astounding comeback win against the American team on Saturday night. That team features one of most stacked rosters that one could imagine, and of course, they are also moving on.
Team USA is moving on to the second round, and a couple more Giants may soon be joining their teammates. New closer Mark Melancon and starter Jeff Samardzija are in the team’s pool of inactive designated pitchers, meaning they aren’t currently with the team, but can be selected ahead of the next round.
Next: Giants Notes 3/12: Tomlinson, Blanks, Ramirez
Giants’ fans who were worried about two of the team’s stars taking part in this tournament can rest a bit easier watching them swing the bat well as the games move on.