It was awesome to spend the Chicago White Sox off-day from spring training watching the World Baseball Classic. Two groups are already done while the other two are wrapping up their group play.
It was nice to see Eloy Jimenez and the Dominican Republic play well earlier in the day but the main event was the United States vs Canada.
This isn't necessarily the matchup that it is in hockey but it is still a great international sports rivalry no matter what sport it is.
The White Sox were on full display in this game. Lance Lynn was the starting pitcher in this game and he straight-up dominated the Canadian lineup. He reached his 65-pitch limit on the final out of the fifth inning via a strikeout.
Lance Lynn was amazing in his World Baseball Classic start on Monday.
In those 5.0 innings pitched, Lynn allowed one run (a solo shot) on two hits with no walks. He also had six strikeouts in what became a very impressive start. Lynn should be very happy with his performance in this one.
Tim Anderson played second base for the first time in his professional career in this game. Obviously, Team USA wants to use Trea Turner at shortstop and nobody should blame them for that. He is one of the best in the world.
With that, Anderson should be playing as well so using him at second was smart. The reason you want Anderson in the lineup is because of his bat. He is showing the world that few are better at getting a barrel on a ball and driving it for a base hit.
Anderson went two for three with a triple, a walk, an RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base. He showed all of the things that make him the elite player that he is. He even did a decent job fielding the position of second base.
This is off the White Sox but we even got to see what it was like as baseball fans to see Mike Trout play well in a huge game. He went 1-2 with two walks, a home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored. It is a shame that the Los Angeles Angels haven't done enough for him in his amazing career.
With all of these happenings, Team USA won the game by a final score of 12-1. Lynn was the winning pitcher and Anderson was clearly one of the top performers on offense for the second game in a row.
Now, they have control of Group C again after a disappointing effort against Team Mexico a day prior. They needed a big win like this and getting one by double-digit runs in seven innings via the mercy rule will be a big help.
Their next game will come on Thursday when they close out Group C play against Columbia. You can bet that Tim Anderson will be in the lineup once again.