March 9, 2006
Canada 8, U.S. 6
Canada Beats the U.S. at Its Own Game
By MURRAY CHASS
PHOENIX, March 8 â?? Miracle on ice? How about miracle on grass?
How else to explain Canada's 8-6 victory over the United States on Wednesday in their second game of the World Baseball Classic? If the Tampa Bay Devil Rays won the World Series this year, it would not be as stunning.
The Canadian victory plunged the United States into a perilous position. If the Americans lose to South Africa on Friday, they could be eliminated. But they could also be eliminated before the South Africa game if Mexico defeats Canada on Thursday night by 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1.
But if Canada wins that game, and the United States beats South Africa, the Americans and the Canadians would advance. The top two teams in each pool advances to the second round.
Canada won Wednesday by building an 8-0 lead in the first five innings against Dontrelle Willis, Al Leiter and Gary Majewski, then holding on as the United States erupted for six runs in the fifth inning, the last four on Jason Varitek's grand slam. With two on and two out in the eighth inning, Adam Stern jumped against the center-field fence to snare Chase Utley's long fly ball.
"It's a very quiet clubhouse," Buck Martinez, the United States manager, said after the game. "Guys feel like they got kicked in the stomach."
The loss at Chase Field was shocking, and it came against a team that nearly lost Tuesday night to South Africa, the weakest team in the 16-team tournament. Canada scored four runs in the ninth inning for an 11-8 victory.
"We felt we were kicked in the stomach last night playing South Africa," Ernie Whitt, Canada's manager, said.
Whitt had been questioned earlier in the week for switching his starting pitching rotation, moving up Erik Bedard, a Baltimore major leaguer, to face South Africa and naming Adam Loewen, a low-level Baltimore minor leaguer, to pitch against the United States.
The left-handed Loewen allowed three hits and three walks in three and two-thirds innings. No one scored.
"It's a coming-out party for Loewen, and he handled it very well," Whitt said. "He did a great job and kept us in the game."
Willis gave up six hits and two walks in two and two-thirds innings. Five runners scored.
"I didn't do anything right today," Willis said. "When I had to throw strikes and get them to put the ball in play, I couldn't do it."
Martinez said Willis might have been "a little pumped up," adding, "I think the adrenaline got him."
Stern, a 26-year-old outfielder, was the star for Canada. A marginal major leaguer with the Boston Red Sox, Stern drove in four runs, slugging, in order, a triple, a single and an inside-the-park home run. Utley robbed him of a single with a nifty play at second base.
But Stern, the last hitter in the lineup, paid back Utley in the eighth with the tying runs on base. Utley drove the ball to the wall in center field, and Stern banged against the wall and made the catch, preserving the 8-6 lead.
"I knew he smoked it, and I knew it was going deep," Stern said. "I just put my head down, ran to a spot and said, 'Come on, baby, don't hit the facing.' It hung up long enough for me to get under it. I kind of prematurely jumped at it, but it was smoked, and those are one of the things we need to go our way."
The Americans had one threat left, but after Alex Rodriguez singled with two out in the ninth for the only United States hit after Varitek's grand slam, Mark Teixeira grounded out.
Martinez said he was not shocked by the loss, even though Canada had nearly lost to South Africa. "Obviously, they got a wake-up call last night," he said. "They rode the momentum of their win last night."
The United States aided the Canadian cause with faulty fielding. A line drive by Stubby Clapp eluded Vernon Wells in right field for a first-inning triple, and Stern's drive to the left-field corner skipped past Matt Holliday in the fifth and rolled into left-center, enabling Stern to race around the bases for a home run.
"We were really pumped about playing in this game," Stern said. "We knew it was going to be a good game."
