Team USA lost the World Baseball Classic final to Japan on Tuesday night, going down 3-2. Don’t blame Trea Turner or Kyle Schwarber, because they knocked in the only two runs via a pair of solo shots.

Turner:

And Schwarber:

Team USA Phillies stats at the World Baseball Classic:

  • Turner: .391/.440/1.043 (1.483 OPS), 5 home runs, 9 hits, 11 RBI
  • Schwarber: .214/.450/.643 (1.093 OPS), 2 home runs, 3 hits, 4 RBI
  • J.T. Realmuto: .500/.533/.667 (1.200 OPS), 6 hits, 2 RBI


They all played well. Definitely did their part. Jose Alvarado had a good showing for Venezuela as well, and Taijuan Walker with Mexico.

In last night’s final, it wasn’t a lack of hitting. They just couldn’t drive anybody in. Nine hits for USA, five for Japan, but we were 0-7 with runners in scoring position, so that’s the story of the final.

Not sure about you, but I enjoyed the WBC. Why? Because it was meaningful baseball. No sport improves more when the stakes are higher, and we just don’t get enough of it. We slog through 162 regular season games every year, so when you watch the playoffs or the WBC, it fills in the gaps for us. Everything is high leverage and you see how much it means to the rest of the world.

Next time this thing comes around, we need our best pitchers to opt-in, then we mow down the competition and reclaim the trophy. This is the way.