Mexico starter Yovani Gallardo pitched three and one-third innings, allowing one run on two hits and a walk while striking out four and Adrian Gonzalez blasted a two-run home run, and had three RBI to lead Mexico to a 5-2 victory over the United States. Gonzalez’s home run came in the third inning with two outs to give Mexico eight 4-0 lead at the time. Eduardo Arredondo added three hits, including a double.
The game was played before a pro-Mexico crowd of 44,256 and they had plenty to cheer about at Chase Field.
USA starter R.A. Dickey went four innings, throwing a total of 62 pitches. He allowed four runs on six hits and no walks while striking out two. Dickey was three pitches short of the WBC minimum 65 after four innings and didn’t come back out. He allowed four runs and six hits.Glen Perkins, in relief of Dickey, allowed a run on a Luis Cruz sacrifice fly
Team Mexico played the game with a sense of urgency and enthusiasm after losing to Italy in their first game. “The last one, we knew we were out and that put us in a position where we had nothing to lose,” Gonzalez said. “This one, we’re still in it and we had to win. We went out and played as close to a perfect game as you can play in baseball.”
Conversely, the American team didn’t have an extra-base hit until the seventh inning and had six singles among their eight hits. They also stranded eight runners, forcing them into a must-win situation against surprising Italy on Saturday.Ryan Vogelsong will pitch against the Italians, who opened the WBC with two wins.
The US joins Canada at 0-1 in Pool D while 1-1 Mexico moves into second place behind 2-0 Italy. Canada and Mexico will play at 2:30 PM ET today, followed by the U.S. vs. Italy at 9 PM ET. If Mexico defeats Canada, Italy could be playing to eliminate the US from the tournament.
