PHOENIX, Mar. 11 \u2014 A first-inning home run by Trayce Thompson<\/a><\/strong> gave Great Britain an early lead, but Team USA bounced back to win, 6\u20132, in the opening game for each team in Pool C of the World Baseball Classic. Kyle Schwarber<\/a><\/strong> went 1-for-3 with two walks, a homer, and three RBI for USA. Paul Goldschmidt<\/a><\/strong> went 1-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored, while St. Louis Cardinals teammate Nolan Arenado<\/a><\/strong> went 3-for-5 with two RBI, and a run scored in the victory. Thompson ultimately went 2-for-4 in the loss.<\/p>\n After the Thompson homer with one out off Adam Wainwright<\/a><\/strong>, the Americans responded in the bottom half by loading the bases with two outs. However, Great Britain starter Vance Worley<\/a><\/strong> got USA shortstop Trea Turner<\/a><\/strong> to ground to second, escaping the jam. Team USA got to Worley in the bottom of the third, with the rally starting after a one-out error by Great Britain shortstop Darnell Sweeney<\/a><\/strong> allowed Goldschmidt to reach. A wild pitch advanced Goldschmidt to second, and a double by Arenado brought Goldschmidt around to score the tying run. Schwarber advanced Arenado to third on a fly to center before Turner walked, putting runners on the corners for left fielder Kyle Tucker<\/a><\/strong>. Jake Esch<\/a><\/strong> took the hill to pitch to Tucker, whose single to center scored Arenado and gave USA a 2\u20131 lead.<\/p>\n The lead widened in the bottom of the fourth after a one-out single and stolen base by center fielder Mike Trout<\/a><\/strong>. Esch plunked Goldschmidt before Arenado popped to third off new pitcher Ryan Long<\/a><\/strong>. That brought up Schwarber, who launched a 1\u20132 changeup past the pool in right-center for a three-run home run, extending the lead to 5\u20131. Two innings later, this time off Daniel Cooper, Goldschmidt stroked a single to left. Arenado followed with his second double of the game, a shot to the left-field corner. The hustling Goldschmidt scored from first to make the score 6\u20131.<\/p>\n Team Great Britain got back within \u201cslam range\u201d of USA in the top of the seventh. Pinch-hitter D\u2019Shawn Knowles smoked a triple to right off Kyle Freeland<\/a><\/strong> and scored when Anfernee Seymour<\/a><\/strong> followed with a grounder to third. But 6\u20132 was as close as Great Britain got, as a perfect eighth by Freeland and a scoreless ninth by Bednar, who struck out the side, finalized the score.<\/p>\n Great Britain manager Drew Spencer<\/a><\/strong> was proud of the effort put forth by his team. The Thompson homer created a great vibe in the dugout. \u201cWe were excited,\u201d he said. \u201cThat’s a great moment for us. We said for us to have a chance in this game we would need to strike early, and we did. It built some confidence. People were excited that the game plan looked like it was working.\u201d<\/p>\n He said his pitchers had a lot to be proud of, given the talent in the American batting order. \u201c\u2026my pitchers executed, and I\u2019m proud of them,\u201d he beamed. \u201cI think they did a fantastic job. And I think every one of them deserves to go home and hold their up head high.\u201d<\/p>\n Spencer also said that his team \u201cshowed they were ready for the competition.\u201d He continued, \u201cI don’t think anybody was expecting that game to be that close, when it was — except us. There was 30 men in that dugout that knew we were going to battle. And we did.\u201d<\/p>\n USA manager Mark DeRosa<\/a><\/strong> said that Great Britain \u201cabsolutely\u201d could surprise people in the tournament. He added that baseball is about \u201cwho executes, who gets timely hits.\u201d Goldschmidt agreed, saying, \u201cTheir offense was good. They had a lot of hits. Had some speed out there. And they played solidly all the way around. And we were able to just get those couple big hits, couple extra base hits. We had a lot of guys on base, but they were able to get out of it. So they did a good job. And we were fortunate to get the win.\u201d<\/p>\n Both DeRosa and starting pitcher Adam Wainwright said the game had a playoff atmosphere. Wainwright said it was \u201cprobably the most exciting game I\u2019ve pitched in a long time, honestly. It was so fun. The crowd was rocking early on. We had the USA chant going. It was \u2014 man, that was a special day for me and our team. But I\u2019ve been waiting a long time to do it. I\u2019m glad I did.\u201d<\/p>\n Team Great Britain faces Team Canada, who was off Saturday, on Sunday afternoon at noon Arizona time. Sunday night Team USA will face Team Mexico, who lost to Colombia<\/a> in the early game Saturday. First pitch for that heavily anticipated matchup will be at 7 pm.<\/p>\nUSA Adds to Lead, Great Britain Gets One Back<\/h3>\n
Postgame Reflections<\/h3>\n
Team USA<\/h4>\n
Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n
Main Photo:<\/h4>\n