After a surprising defeat at the hands of Italy in the tournament, the USA baseball team has entered the World Baseball Classic semi-finals.
The USA team defeated Canada 5-3 on Friday night, securing a spot in Sunday’s semifinal game against the Domino Republic.
The USA previously lost 8-6 to Italy, which almost knocked them out of the tournament.
Yankees star Aaron Judge said, “Guys really locked in. We saw a different level of focus at our workout the other day and then even pregame today. It felt like the boys were locked and ready to go.”
Star player Aaron Judge noted that the team “locked in” and showed a much higher level of focus during practice and before the Canada game.
The team and their manager, Mark DeRosa, faced heavy criticism after the loss to Italy, especially since DeRosa had confidently predicted they would advance before that game even started.
“There’s a lot of noise that’s been going on with that. And I think it just speaks volumes to the players in this room, the manager we’ve got, everybody, that no matter what’s being said about us, what’s going on, we still got a job to do on the field,” he said.
The other players also said they are not listening to “outsiders.”
According to Bryce Harper, the first baseman, the public opinion does not matter because those people are not part of the inner circle.
He said, “People are going to have their opinion about us. I don’t think any of them are going to be sitting at our dinner table or our Thanksgiving dinner, so it doesn’t really matter what anybody says.”
Logan Webb who pitched nearly five scoreless innings, said the team felt a new energy after getting the second chance.
Third baseman Alex Bregman praised his teammates for staying calm and focusing only on the present moment rather than worrying about past mistakes.
Bregman said, “They’re worried about that game, that moment, that pitch, the next pitch. And it was just a good, good response today.”
