The World Baseball Classic has been outstanding. There have been some really good play that has made it one of the more entertaining events of the year.
There are only five teams remaining in the tournament that started with 20. Mexico is set to face Japan in the semifinals while Cuba awaits the winner of USA/Venezuela.
That game between USA and Venezuela is going to have some Chicago White Sox flare in it. Of course, Tim Anderson has played himself into the lineup in some way because of how good his bat has been.
He started the tournament on the bench but got a start in the second game in which he was one of their best players. He hasn't looked back.
The White Sox are going to heavily influence Team USA once again.
In addition to Anderson playing, Lance Lynn is getting the start for Team USA in this one. That is a huge opportunity for him and well deserved. So far in this tournament, Lynn has been their best starting pitcher and deserves to pitch in this spot.
Venezuela has a nice major league-caliber lineup that needs great pitching to hold it down. Lance Lynn is hoping to provide that. He certainly knows how to pitch well in high-pressure situations.
Depending on how the game goes, we could see Kendall Graveman in relief as well. Those are the three White Sox players that will be participating in this game.
If Lance Lynn and Team USA pull out a win here, they will move on to face Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert, and Team Cuba in the semifinals. That would be really cool but they have to get through this Venezuelan team first. That will be a very tough task.
In addition to needing Lynn to pitch well, they need that dream team lineup to score lots of runs. We've seen them at their best in this tournament and that is what they'll need to win this game.
The likes of Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Nolan Arenado, and Paul Goldschmidt amongst others need to come up big. If they do, this game could go the way that we want it to.
Hopefully, the White Sox players keep dominating as they have so far in this tournament. If they do, they will return to the team feeling very good about their games which would be a big plus going into the 2023 MLB season. After the way 2022 went, they need to try to get any advantage they can.