Ro Mueller

Luis Lara center field defense:

After back-to-back walks to Jett Williams and Jesus Made in the bottom of the 6th inning, Luis Pena deposits the next pitch over the right center field wall for a 3-run homer and 4-2 lead:

Jett Williams 109mph double and Jesus Made RBI single to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the 4th inning:

Jesus Made and Jeferson Quero combine for a big out in the 4th inning to keep it a 1-0 game with Bryce Meccage on the mound:

Jesus Made to Cooper Pratt to Brock Wilken inning-ending GIDP induced by Brian Fitzpatrick with the bases loaded down 1-0 in the 2nd inning; 20260321_041540.mp4

20-year old RHP Ryan Sloan starts for the Mariners against 21-year old RHP Bishop Letson:

It's great to see that INF/OF Eduardo Garcia has healed up after a hand injury relatively late in the Winter League ball season. I'm also encouraged to have seen Yorman Galindez (last pitched June 2024), Enniel Cortez (last pitched July 2024) and Eric Prado (last pitched September 2024) amongst the listed players in recent days.

Brice Turang made the All-Tournament Team:

I’m sorry about the injuries, but not sorry that Craig Yoho (signing bonus $10,000 in 2023) will likely earn MLB-level pay for a month.

Eduardo Rodriguez (4.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks) stifled the American bats as Venezuela built a 2-0 lead by the 5th inning en route to a 3-2 victory in the WBC championship game. Limited to just 3 hits, Team USA nonetheless rallied to tie the contest on Bryce Harper’s 2-run blast in the bottom of the 8th inning. Despite the setback, Venezuela needed just 2 plate appearances to re-take the lead in the top of the 9th inning, with Eugenio Suarez doubling home Luis Arraez, who had walked. Daniel Palencia then set down Kyle Schwarber, Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony in order to close out the win. 2B Brice Turang went 1-for-3 for the US, while CF Jackson Chourio had an 0-for-3 evening and LHP Angel Zerpa retired 2 of 3 batters (K, ground out, walk) for Venezuela.

Jackson Chourio and Venezuela vs. Brice Turang and the USA in the WBC final:

Down 2-1 to Italy with 2 outs in the top of the 7th inning, CF Jackson Chourio started a string of 4 consecutive singles to propel Venezuela to a 4-2 advantage which held up for a WBC semifinal victory. Ronald Acuna legged out an infield single to tie the game, before Maikel Garcia drove home Chourio for the lead. A half inning earlier, LHP Angel Zerpa had entered for Venezuela with 1-on, 1-out, promptly striking out 3B Andrew Fischer (1-for-3, walk), then navigating an intentional walk and weak infield single to get a strikeout looking and escape the bases loaded jam. Benefitting from 3 consecutive walks, Italy struck first with 2 runs in the second inning, chasing Venezuelan starter Keider Montero after just 1.1 IP, with Ricardo Sanchez (1.2 IP, 0 R) righting the ship by stranding 1 of 3 inherited runners. For Italy, Austin Nola delivered an effective start (4 IP, 1 R), but the bullpen was unable to hold it. Chourio went 1-for-3 with a run scored, while teammate C William Contreras was 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

Venezuela vs. Italy for a place in the WBC finals tonight, with Contreras, Chourio and Fischer all starting:

The USA won a hard-fought 2-1 battle over the Dominican Republic in the first WBC semi-final, with all three runs scored via solo homers early in the contest. Though the Americans had 5 baserunners over the first 2.5 innings vs. just 1 for the Dominicans, the D.R. grabbed the early advantage on Junior Caminero’s 2nd inning blast off of Paul Skenes (4.1 IP, 1 R, 6 H, 0 BB, 2 HBP, 2 Ks). Thereafter, it was a reversal of fortune, with the Dominican Republic putting 9 men on base from the 3rd through the 7th innings, but converting no such opportunities. Meanwhile, Team USA got solo homers from Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony in the 4th inning to grab a 2-1 lead, which held up despite producing little else offensively for the rest of the game. Major misses for the Dominicans included 2-on, 1-out in the 5th inning (Tyler Rogers induced Juan Soto into a GIDP) and 2nd and 3rd, 1-out in the 7th inning (David Bednar K’d Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ketel Marte). They also had a runner on 2nd base with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning, but Mason Miller closed out the game with a ground out and some help from a low game-ending strike call. The D.R. out-hit the USA 8-7 and struck out 15 Americans vs. just 8 Ks for US pitchers. This included a respectable start by Luis Severino (3.1 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 6 Ks) and an impressive relief shift by Huascar Brazoban (1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 Ks). While Brewers’ 2B Brice Turang had a relatively challenging contest (0-for-4, 2 Ks, 1 GIDP, 1 bobble in the field to extend the 5th inning), RHP Abner Uribe tossed a 3-up, 3-down 7th inning for the Dominican Republic (1 K).