Since our last World Baseball Classic recap, there have been two games played and one player from the Pittsburgh Pirates saw action. Here’s a quick recap and an upcoming schedule.
David Bednar pitched the seventh inning for Team USA on Saturday night. He allowed one run on a solo homer, while retiring the other three batters he faced, including one strikeout. USA was losing 6-5 when he entered, then took a 9-7 lead on a Trea Turner grand slam. They went on to win 9-7. Bednar retired all six batters he faced in the WBC before this game.
The other game saw Puerto Rico take a 4-0 lead over Mexico in the top of the first inning, only to lose 5-4.
Remaining Schedule
USA vs Cuba 7 PM tonight
Japan vs Mexico 7 PM Monday
winner of USA/Cuba vs winner of Japan/Mexico 7 PM Tuesday
Since it is highly unlikely Bednar pitches on back-to-back days, our next/last WBC article will be a recap of the tournament on Wednesday morning.
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball.
When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.
Other than that longball, bednar looked like a man on a mission out there
And in a meaningless stat, Bednar got the win!