Last night, Canada faced the United States at the World Classic. After taking the measure of Great Britain at the count of 18-8, the challenge was very important.
And the Canadians got away with it.
In fact, the match ended 12-1 after the Americans have scored no less than nine times in the first round. It wasn’t fancy.
Mitch Bratt, a 19-year-old Rangers prospect who is still a long way from the Majors (he hasn’t started in the AA yet), took a massive hit.
It’s hard to blame the young man. After all, he was thrown into the mouth of the wolf against a club that had lost an important game the day before – against Mexico – and was hungry.
The American roster wasn’t exactly what he’s used to seeing either.
He couldn’t do anything. I only hope it didn’t break him for the rest of his career since his potential is enormous. He will have to find a way to recover.
For the Americans, Lance Lynn threw five great innings, passing six players in the mitt. He did what he had to do, just like the hitters.
Note that the United States did not score after the first two ends, which can perhaps act as a balm for Canada. Three of Canada’s five hits have come from Quebecers: Abraham Toro (2) and Édouard Julien.
Ranking result? The United States, with a win over Colombia, would advance to the quarter-finals. They are in control of their destiny. Here is the ranking of the Canadian division, precisely.
Canada, which had the opportunity to launch a gunner for whom a presence under the Canadian colors made it possible to make peace with the sportwill therefore have a lot to do to move on to the next level of the Classic.
Today and tomorrow, Colombia and Mexico will be on the menu. It won’t be easy and the Canadian representatives will have to work hard to stay alive.
Remember that the first two clubs in each group move on to the medal round. It really won’t be easy for Canada.
But at least, whether they pass or not, the Canadians can console themselves by saying that the letter T did not fall from their uniform…
