The U.S. advanced to the semifinals of the World Baseball Classics League on Saturday, overtaking Venezuela 9-7 thanks to a big win in the clutch game at the end of the short game. Trea Turner.
According to ESPN Stats and Information, Turner is the first player in WBC history to hit a major hit in the sixth inning or later.
In the early part of the eighth inning, when the United States was down 7-5, Turner stepped onto the board with pressed bases and no dominant points.
After going 0-2, Turner destroyed Silvino Bracho’s out-of-speed pitch, sending it over the left fence 407 feet at loanDepot Park.
After the game, Turner told FOX’s Ken Rosenthal that Saturday night’s big hot dog was the biggest match of his career. Traveling around the bases, Turner called the moment “electric” but added that he wasn’t sure what he did when he got to the finish line.
“It was really fun. I didn’t even really know what I was doing,” Turner said. “I feel like I’ve lost my memory. I’ve lost my voice, as you can see. It was a big hit.”
The United States and Venezuela fought a back-and-forth competition that saw the two teams put together for 16 runs and 23 hits.
Along with Turner’s performance of four RBIs, Kyle Tucker finished 3/5 at the disc, driving in two runs, while Mookie Betts and Paul Goldschmidt each had one RBI.
Luis Arraez leads the Venezuelan side, 2nd out of 4 with four RBIs and three runs scored.
Unfortunately, the match wasn’t all that Venezuela lost on Saturday night. Second player Jose Altuve left the game in the fifth inning after being was hit in the right hand from Daniel Bard.
Although there are no updates on Altuve’s injury, according to RosenthalThe worrying thing is that he broke his thumb.
With Saturday’s win, the United States secured the final spot in the WBC semifinals. They will face Cuba on Sunday, while Mexico will face Japan in the other semi-final on Monday. Both games start at 7pm EST.
The winners will contest the WBC Championship on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EST.
