*Photo from the Chicago Sun Times*
The Americans are right on the precipice of winning it again. Paul Goldschmidt homered, Trea Turner had a two homer game, and Team USA routed Team Cuba with a 14-2 victory in Miami on Sunday night.
As the defending WBC champions from 2017, Team USA can become the second team to repeat as champions, joining Japan in 2006 and 2009. The Americans started the barrage on offense early and kept it going throughout, securing the rout to advance to the championship game.
Turner in particular led the way at the plate, hitting two home runs to bring his WBC total to 4. He's the second player in Team USA history to have a multi homer game, joining current hitting coach Ken Griffey Jr. After a slow start in pool play, Team USA has scored 23 runs in the last two games.
USA manager Mark DeRosa said of the lineup's production that "They're swinging the bats good, they're having fun being around each other, they're passing the baton, they're not having selfish ABs, constant pressure. I'm blown away by the way these guys control the strike zone. Trea Turner's in the zone right now, hitting everything he sees. Able to get everybody in there, have some fun, relax, and let the pitchers do their thing."
Cuba took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Alfredo Despaigne drew a bases loaded walk. Goldschmidt then made it 2-1 USA with a two run home run. One inning later, Turner joined the fun with a solo shot to make the lead 3-1. Pete Alonso hit an RBI single and Tim Anderson drove in a run with a sac fly in the 3rd inning to push the US lead to 5-1.
Nolan Arenado drove in his teammate Goldschmidt in the 4th with an RBI triple, then scored on a wild pitch to make it a 7-1 game. Andy Ibanez got a run back for Cuba in the top of the 5th with a single, then Goldschmidt hit a two run single in the bottom half to make it a 9-2 game. In the 6th inning, a 3 run homer from Turner and an RBI double from Mike Trout made it 13-2, with Cedric Mullins homering in the 8th to make it a 14-2 final.
Goldschmidt talked about his first inning homer, saying "That was one of my favorite home runs I've ever hit in my entire life. We've talked about trying to score early. For me, I was very happy to be able to do that. You want to contribute on this team."
Roenis Elias got the start for Team Cuba, allowing 3 runs in two innings, getting tagged with the loss. Miguel Romero allowed two runs while only getting one out. Carlos Viera allowed two runs in 1 1/3 innings and Ronald Bolanos allowed two runs in 1/3 of an inning. Elian Leyva, Frank Alvarez, and Jose Rodriguez also pitched.
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright started and got the win for the US, allowing one run in 4 innings pitched. Cardinals teammate Miles Mikolas pitched 4 innings with one run allowed in relief, with Aaron Loup pitching a scoreless 9th inning to seal the win.
Team USA OF/DH Kyle Schwarber said that "You obviously come for the experience and you come to play with this team. This group, it's an exciting group. But you don't come here just for that, you come to win. We got one step closer to where we want to be."
Up next, Team USA heads to the championship game on Tuesday, where they await the winner of the Mexico-Japan semifinal game on Monday.
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