United States Tops Venezuela 6-5 at WBSC Premier12 Behind Ryan Ward’s Late Home Run

TOKYO – On the third day of the 2024 Premier12 Super Round at the Tokyo Dome, the United States won a thriller on Saturday afternoon to beat Venezuela 6-5.

In the top of the ninth, U.S. designated hitter Ryan Ward launched a home run to deep centerfield at the Tokyo Dome, giving the U.S. a 6-5 lead that held, improving their record at the 2024 WBSC Premier 12 Super Round to 1-2, even with Venezuela.

But even with the win pushing them into a potential three-way tie situation with Chinese Taipei and Venezuela, it was not decisive enough. A win by 10 runs or more in a nine-inning game against Venezuela combined with a Japan win in the nightcap would have gotten the United States into the championship game on Sunday via the Total Quality Balance tiebreaker, but a one-run win was not enough.

The United States got on the board in the top of the second inning when right fielder Chandler Simpson drilled an RBI single to right center that scored Termarr Johnson for a 1-0 lead. The next batter, Matt Shaw, grounded into a fielder’s choice, and Venezuela second baseman Alexi Amarista, who got the easy out at second base while Drake Baldwin scored to make it 2-0. 

Shaw led off the top of the fifth with a stand-up double off the wall to right field that Venezuela’s Ramon Flores struggled to find on the warning track. Shaw pulled up at second as Flores finally threw the ball into the infield, costing himself a base, but one batter later, the double was enough to draw Lopez from the dugout to replace starter Jesus Vargas and with Liarvis Breto.

Vargas threw 4 1/3 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs, three walks, and two strikeouts, while throwing 51 of his 84 pitches for strikes. 

After United States starter Touki Toussaint walked left fielder Angel Reyes to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning, manager Mike Scioscia went to his bullpen for Antonio Menendez. Toussaint threw 4 1/3 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs, three walks, and two strikeouts. Menendez got Venezuela third baseman Jermaine Palacios to line out to Williams at third, and he threw over to first to get Reyes for a 6-3 inning-ending double play. 

Toussaint “was able to have the same arm slot between his fast ball and his split finger. I was hearing from our players that it was really hard for them to recognize, since his split was kind of hard with some depth at the end. They made some adjustments to elevate the zone and open to recognize it, alongside making them fall behind in the count to get back in the game and that’s what we did,” Venezuela Omar Lopez said following the game. 

The United States added to the lead in the sixth when right fielder Chandler Simpson lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Drake Baldwin to make it 3-0. The next batter, Shaw, ripped an RBI single to center field, scoring Ritter to extend the lead to 4-0. Williams followed with a double to left-center field, scoring Shaw to give the U.S. a 5-0 lead. 

Venezuela did not get on the board until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Rodriguez drilled an RBI single down the right field line, scoring Amarista to make it 5-1. 

In the bottom of the seventh inning, first baseman Carlos Perez crushed a solo home run to left-center to cut chisel away at the U.S. lead.

Venezuela stormed back into the game in the top bottom of the eighth inning when pinch hitter Diego Castillo hit a three-run home run that just cleared the left-center field wall, scoring Hernan Perez and Carlos E. Perez to tie the game up five apiece. 

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The United States regained the lead when Ward launched a solo home run in the batter’s eye in center field to make it 6-5, putting the U.S. ahead for good. 

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“He started up with a changeup up in the zone, I thought I saw it pretty well, so I was comfortable on staying on the heater, then he started going heaters away, and also of the sudden it got to two strikes and I knew it was time to battle to try to get on top of one,” Ward said. 

After entering the game with two outs in the eighth, reliever Zane Mills stayed in the game, getting Hernan Perez to pop up to first baseman Luke Ritter for the final out.

IT COULD BE THE FIRST TIME – Venezuela will have a chance to medal at an international senior event on Sunday. They won the bronze at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, El Salvador, where they beat the Dominican Republic at Estadio Saturnino Bengoa on July 1, 2023. 

Venezuela won three Baseball World Cups in 1941, 1944, and 1945, the Central American and Caribbean Games in 1954, and the Pan American Games in 1959, but those are or were amateur events. 

Venezuela has never won an international senior event tournament with professional players, but reached the semifinals of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, finishing in fourth place after losing to South Korea 10-2 at Dodger Stadium.

THE LAST TIME – The last time the United States did not medal at an international senior event was the 2019 Premier12, when they lost 3-2 to Mexico in the third-place game at the Tokyo Dome when Efren Navarro hitting a game-winning single in the bottom of the 10th inning. 

AND WE’LL SEE YOU TOMORROW – The United States will play Venezuela in the third place game at the Tokyo Dome and World No. 2 Chinese Taipei will play No. 1 Japan in the championship game on November 24. The third place game will start on November 23 at 10 p.m. EST, or on November 24 at 12 p.m. JST, depending upon the viewing location. The championship game starts at 5 a.m. EST on November 24 and at 7 p.m. JST. All of the remaining 2024 Premier12 tournament games are streamed on https://gametime.sport/ and DAZN with a paid subscription.

Photo: Ryan Ward trots home after his solo homer gave the United States a 6-5 lead over Venezuela at the Tokyo Dome. (Photo Courtesy WBSC)