Mexico eliminates Japan at Volunteer with a 2-0 victory
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A closer look at the 2-0 Mexico win over Japan on Wednesday afternoon at Volunteer Stadium.
PLAY OF THE GAME -- It may not have been the most heroic in-game situation but Arath Laborin's RBI flyout to left field helped bring in another run for Mexico to give them just enough cushion to take the game away from Japan. One could argue that pitcher Bernardo Partida had the play of the game with the final out of the game, but Laborin's insurance run gave Mexico comfort heading into the top of the sixth.
MEXICO PLAYER OF THE GAME -- Bernardo Partida. There's no doubt that Partida played a big-if not the biggest-role of Tijuana's 2-0 shutout win over Japan. From the opening pitch to his final pitch that kept Mexico alive, Partida was the foundation for his defense. And this isn't new to this team at all. This is the second consecutive game that a Mexico pitcher has thrown a complete game, and that gives them confidence.
The ace pitcher in Partida tossed out a complete game, three-hitter with four strikeouts and zero walks. In the postgame press conference, he even had ice on his throwing shoulder to prove how dominant the performance was.
Although Mexico is proud of Partida's strong outing, the team understands that it has even more pitchers that are ready to play.
"We were talking to the team last night and just trying to give him confidence," Mexico's manager Francisco Fimbres said. "We were saying, 'Be confident, we trust in you and to keep throwing your pitches'"
"We know we have a lot of pitchers and we're confident in most of them," the game manager said. "We just needed to accept the first game because they were nervous. They trust in them to help them get through the game."
JAPAN PLAYER OF THE GAME--Yohei Yamaguchi: The last time these two teams met on Friday, Japan made some big hits and pulled out what was a five-run victory over Mexico. That wasn't the case on Wednesday afternoon, and while pitching had a big influence on the game, Yamaguchi made one of Japan's three hits in the sixth to try and give them an edge.
Kirato Takano followed Yamaguchi's double with a single of his own but Mexico's defense, again, made timely plays to shutdown Japan's hitting.
BIG INNING--Mexico's fifth: The way this game started without a run until the second inning, you knew we were in for a good contest. The question wasn't how good it was going to get, the question was when. In the fifth, with the score 1-0, Mexico was able to earn three walks to get on base before Arath Laborin hit an RBI flyout to deep left field which brought in Marko Mejia.
A single by Jorge Cota on the next at-bat gave Mexico a good enough cushion to where Japan couldn't threaten the way it wanted to. It wasn't the most spectacular inning in World Series history, but it got the job done to help Mexico win it's 10th consecutive elimination game.
BEST EFFORT--Japan did all it could to try and make what would've been a spectacular comeback against a solid pitcher but they couldn't get it done. Putting just three hits on the board in an elimination game against a team the second time around just didn't work. And even when Japan had its chances down the stretch, they weren't able to make any magic happen.
FLASHING LEATHER--Both teams made some spectacular infield plays that changed the trajectory of what could have been. For Japan, it happened in the bottom of the first inning when pitcher Yohei Yamaguchi helped retire the side with a double play on a ground ball. The play looked so routine one may have thought they were watching a major league game. For Mexico, a solid defensive play happened in the top of the second inning when third baseman Jorge Cota snagged a ball off his backside and made a throw across the field for the third out.
WHAT IT MEANS-- Japan is now eliminated after its second loss and Mexico moves on to play the second of what could be three consecutive games if they pull out a victory Friday and play in Saturday's International Championship against Chinese-Taipei. Friday's game for Mexico is set for 3 p.m. at Lamade Stadium.
With Mexico's revenge game behind them, the team sets its sights on new territory. With a Friday afternoon game and possible Saturday game if they pull out a victory, a lot of baseball is still to be played in a short amount of time. Most of it will take a lot of mental fortitude but a deep roster will also be necessary due to the physicality of the game. But Mexico has that roster, especially for guys on the hill.
"We know tomorrow we'll have eight pitchers ready for tomorrow's (Friday's) game, so we're confident in them," Fimbres said. "We just want to play good baseball to help them get to the finals."