Canada defeats Colombia 8-2 in their World Baseball Classic opener

Instant Reaction: Canada defeats Colombia 8-2 in their World Baseball Classic opener

Canada has won their opener at the World Baseball Classic.

On Saturday, Canada began their group play, taking on Colombia and defeating them 8-2. It was an important win for Canada, one they had to have, but will still need to find a way to defeat Puerto Rico or Cuba to move into the knockout stage. Let’s take a look at what went on in this one!

After a scoreless first, Canada opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning. With Abraham Toro on second, top Canadian prospect Owen Caissie hit a home run to deep right field to give Canada a 2-0 lead.

Colombia scored a run in the top of the third to cut Canada’s lead in half, as former Toronto Blue Jays’ farmhand Harold Ramírez hit an RBI single, but Canada restored their two-run lead thanks to a bases-loaded walk to Toro in the bottom of the third.

The game remained scoreless for the next three innings, but Canada extended their lead to three thanks to a Josh Naylor single which scored Denzel Clarke, who had reached on a fielding error. Things got a bit hairy when Colombia cut Canada’s lead to two with Ramírez driving in another run, but Canada quickly put an end to that in the bottom of the eighth.

Tyler Black walked, then was driven in with a Toro triple. Bo Naylor was up next, hitting a single that drove in Canada’s sixth run. After Caissie hit a single to put runners on the corner, Clarke hit a sacrifice fly to make it 7-2 Canada. Then Clarke came home after three consecutive walks, making it an 8-2 game.

Takeaways…

The lone Toronto Blue Jay representative on Canada’s roster, Adam Macko, didn’t pitch in this game. Former Blue Jay Otto López went 0-3 with a strikeout, while fellow former Blue Jay Harold Ramírez went 2-4 with an RBI and was Colombia’s best player.

Michael Soroka made the start, going three innings with an earned run allowed, a walk, and two strikeouts. Indigo Diaz was the first out of the bullpen, striking out two in his inning of work. Noah Skirrow pitched three scoreless innings with two strikeouts, while 6’7” lefty Micah Ashman allowed an earned run in his two-thirds of an inning of work. Eric Cerantola pitched a scoreless inning as well.

Former Blue Jay farmhand Phillippe Aumont got the final out of the game thanks to a strikeout. This was the first time the Gatineau, Québec native has pitched professionally since he was pitching with the Ottawa Champions of the Can-Am League in 2019.

Owen Caissie’s home run was Canada’s biggest hit of the game, as he went 2-4 with two runs driven in and two strikeouts. Abraham Toro went 2-3 with two runs driven in, while Josh Naylor went 2-4 with one run driven in.

Canada is back in action on Sunday, as they play a must-win game against Panama at 7:00 PM MT. Their starter is yet to be determined.

Takeaways…

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