USA beats Japan in Rainout Make-Up

Jeff Marquez pitches 6 solid Innings in 7-3 Win in lone Baseball World Cup Game on Wednesday

Panama City, Panama. The defending champion is back on track. Team USA defeated Japan 7-3 on Wednesday evening at Rod Carew Stadium in Panama City. While the other 14 teams had a rest day, the two baseball powerhouses made up their rainout from Sunday. It was the second win in three games for the American squad, while Japan dropped to 0-3 and is facing elimination with still four games to play in the first round.

Team USA scored five runs between the fifth and eighth inning to decide the outcome. Joe Thurston had the tie-breaking two-run single in the fifth. RBI singles by Jordy Mercer, Jordan Danks and Andrew Garcia provided insurance in the three frames after. Japan had erased an early 0-2 deficit in the bottom of the fourth, when Yoshinobu Kotegawa and Takayoshi Kawabata scored on a sac fly and a groundout. James Gosewich had put the Americans in front with a two-run double in the second.

Right-hander Jeff Marquez (W, 1-0) got the start for Team USA. He dominated early on and retired the first nine batters in order. He struggled in the fourth and fifth, but found his rhythm again and finished with six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a hit batter. He struck out two. Justin Cassell, Peter Andrelczyk and Scott Patterson pitched one scoreless innings apiece to close it out.

Japan began with Hiroya Kawamitsu (L, 0-1) on the mound, who struck out seven in 4 1/3 innings, issuing six hits, four runs and a walk. Five relievers were asked to keep Team USA in check afterwards, including three alone in the fifth. It didn’t work out and Japan is under pressure going into the last four days of the first phase at the 2011 IBAF Baseball World Cup still looking for their first win.

Notes

The second off day will be after the first round on Monday, October 9”¦..Today’s Team USA starting pitcher Jeff Marquez was selected by the New York Yankees in the first round of the 2004 amateur draft. He made his MLB debut in 2010 with the Chicago White Sox, is now back with the Yankees and allowed five hits and a run in four innings in the big leagues this year”¦..The victory on Tuesday was the first ever for the Netherlands over Japan in Baseball World Cup history.

(From IBAF Website)