Nolan Arenado didn’t put up the offensive numbers everyone expected from him in the World Baseball Classic, but the reigning MLB RBI king still played a role in helping deliver the United States’ first-ever WBC title with an emphatic 8-0 victory over Puerto Rico on Wednesday night.
Arenado cooly fielded a ground ball and threw to first baseman Eric Hosmer to record the final out of the title game, one dominated by Team USA starter and tournament MVP Marcus Stroman. The Blue Jays’ right-hander pitched six no-hit innings in the championship game, finally surrendering a leadoff double to open the seventh before Team USA manager Jim Leyland turned things over to the bullpen.
For Arenado, the tournament was a frustrating one at the plate. Colorado’s two-time Silver Slugger hit just .161 for the tournament. The low point of Arenado’s WBC came in the semifinal against Japan in which he went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. That was part of an 0-for-11 slide for the slugger that included seven consecutive strikeouts spanning three games, including his first two at-bats in the championship. Arenado did earn some redemption in the final, however, starting a two-out rally with a single up the middle in the top of the seventh inning. The U.S. would score three runs, including Arenado, in the inning to put the game effectively out of reach.
The championship was Team USA’s first and their first trip to the title game in the tournament’s four iterations. The Americans had never finished higher than fourth (2009) in the previous three tournaments. For Puerto Rico, it was the U.S. Territory’s second runner-up finish. They lost to the Dominican Republic, a team they eliminated in this year’s semifinal, in 2013.
