I want there to be something of a Tigers slant to this. Tarik Skubal became a big part of the story when it was announced that he was only going to be allowed to throw 50 pitches in the one start that he is likely to make in the WBC. And after the first pitch, Tarik was great. It was everything that you would expect from Tarik Skubal against the lineup like Great Britain. The stuff was overwhelming and you could still tell that the fastball isn’t quite tuned up to what we’re used to seeing from him, but didn’t really matter. He was mixing speeds really well, and the changeup was lethal.
But despite being what people were talking about coming into this game, Tarik Skubal is not the story today. I'm embarrassed by what I'm about to say, and maybe I’m just a nervous Nelly, but those first few innings were scaring me. You could tell that the US had better players and the approaches at the plate were fine, but there were a lot of loud outs. Great Britain was doing things in those first four innings that a team needs to pull off an upset. They were making great defensive plays, and they ambushed Skubal to start the game. It wouldn't call it tense, but it was reaching a point of tension. Again, I feel very foolish.
AJ Pierzynski made a great point during the broadcast that this game was like a top-10 college football team playing a mid-major. The smaller team can be up to the challenge, but over time, the depth is gonna wear you down. As good a job as Great Britain was doing of weathering the storm early, you just knew that error in the fifth inning was going to come back to bite them, and that’s exactly what happened. You apply enough pressure on your opponent, and eventually they’re gonna pop. Those middle innings were a clinic of patient hitting. I’m not even trying to take a shot at the Tigers right now, but it is so neat to watch teams that just don’t strike out. Yeah, there’s a lot of power here, but towards the bottom, there’s a lot of contact, and it makes this lineup a nightmare to face.
Pending a total breakdown, the United States has most likely punched its ticket to the next round, but it has its sights set on winning its group. To do that, they’ll have to knock out Mexico in their next game on Monday. Great Britain had to face Tarik Skubal. Mexico will have to face Paul Skenes. Good luck.