MIAMI (AP) — Gio Gonzalez gave Team USA its best start yet, and David Wright provided a big finish.
Gonzalez pitched five scoreless innings and the Americans beat Puerto Rico 7-1 in the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday night.
Wright drove in five runs, the last three with a bases-loaded double in the eighth. That prompted chants of "U-S-A! U-S-A!" from the crowd of 32,872.
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PHOENIX — Tommy Milone had a successful rookie season, and then started off spring training with five scoreless innings in two starts. Still, he’s treating camp as if he needs to earn a spot in the A’s rotation.
Milone allowed six hits and three runs in 3²⁄³ innings, but the bullpen shut down the hot-hitting Kansas City Royals on Tuesday for a 6-3 victory.
“I was trying to get ready for the season [last year], regardless of my spot, and I’m doing the same thing this year,” he said.
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Tyson Ross said it felt weird trying to strike out his friends and former teammates.It didn’t hinder his performance, though.
Ross gave up two hits and struck out three in three innings, and Yonder Alonso hit one of the San Diego Padres’ three homers in a 10-0 romp over the A’s on Monday.
“Coming in, I probably said hello to one too many guys and I heard it from the guys in the bullpen,” said Ross, acquired by the Padres in trade this offseason. “They were chirping, telling me to cut the cord and whatnot, but those are my friends over there. It was good to see them.”
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Facing a lineup packed with big-leaguers helped the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner get a bit of a regular-season feel.Bumgarner pitched four-hit ball for four innings and struck out four in the Giants’ 2-1 win over the Texas Rangers on Monday.
“It went pretty good,” said Bumgarner, who went 16-11 with a 3.37 ERA last year. “I was happy with it. I said before, each time is a step in the right direction and each time has been a little bit better.”
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Late-inning heroics from Adam Jones, Brandon Philips and Steve Cishek saved Team USA and the World Baseball Classic’s hopes of gaining relevance on Sunday.
With a 9-4 win over Canada at Chase Field in Arizona, the Americans advanced to the second round, averting, at least for now, the nightmare scenario of a third straight championship game without the host country.
If the WBC is really going to grab our attention and grow, it needs the drama of a final game between the U.S. and Japan — or the Dominican Republic, or Cuba — at AT&T Park on March 19.
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PHOENIX (AP) — Running out of outs, Adam Jones and the United States suddenly broke loose and saved themselves from a humbling loss.
Now, thanks to a fast finish, they're heading to Miami for the next round of the World Baseball Classic.
Jones doubled in the tying and go-ahead runs in the eighth inning, Eric Hosmer hit a three-run double in the ninth and the U.S. scored seven times in the last two innings to beat Canada 9-4 on Sunday.
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PHOENIX (AP) — Brett Anderson called it "pure athleticism at its finest."
The fact that he could make light of what could have been a serious situation for the Oakland A's was a bit of good news in a 7-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.
Anderson, picked by manager Bob Melvin to start on opening day, was just eight pitches into his second start of the spring when trouble arose.
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PHOENIX (AP) — Matt Cain is starting to find his groove.
The San Francisco righty allowed one run and struck out four in three innings as the Giants beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-1 on Sunday,
"I had some pretty good movement. I was in pretty much every situation, had guys on and worked out of the windup. But everything was good," Cain said.
Cain's results this spring have been a far cry than those posted last season, when he went 16-5 with a 2.79 ERA and threw a perfect game.
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PHOENIX — Many big-name pitchers found reason to say no to the World Baseball Classic. R.A. Dickey was an automatic yes.
The knuckleball master, winner of the NL Cy Young Award with the New York Mets last season now plying his unorthodox trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, made it known before anyone asked him that he wished to play.
Now he will start for the United States in its WBC opener tonight against Mexico, something he calls “one of the greater privileges of my athletic career.”
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PHOENIX — Chris Young felt out of place as he trotted to left field for the first time ever, at any level. It took a few plays to feel situated.
Young singled, walked and scored twice, Jed Lowrie hit a two-run homer and the A’s beat a Seattle Mariners split squad 7-3 on Thursday.
Tommy Milone pitched three scoreless innings for the A’s, who have won four of their last five.
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