Sunday was a difficult day for Team USA, as they lost a lopsided affair with Team Mexico, falling by the final score of 11-5.
However, it did not determine them heading into Monday’s matchup with Team Canada.
And the team appeared to have put Sunday’s loss behind them very quickly, as they erupted for nine first-inning runs, which included a towering three-run home run off the bat of Mike Trout.
The Los Angeles Angels star put the game out of reach and helped provide enough offense for starter Lance Lynn to cruise through the game.
After the game, Trout made a very definitive statement, saying that Sunday’s defeat was a wake-up call and that it motivated them to go out on Monday and dominate.
Mike Trout said their loss to Mexico was a wake-up call and said they came out with one goal: ‘We’re going to bang. We’re going to dominate.”
—Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 14, 2023
As Trout mentioned, the team came out on Monday with one goal in mind, which was to win.
Team USA did just that, and did it quite emphatically as well.
If Sunday’s loss was a wake-up call, the Americans certainly responded to it, and responded quite well, piling up the runs early and even allowing themselves to end the game sooner than usual by virtue of the WBC’s mercy rule.
The mercy rule states that if a team is leading by 10 or more runs after seven innings or 15 or more after five innings, the game can end.
And the game ended with Miles Mikolas completing two scoreless innings to secure a 12-1 victory for the Americans at Chase Field in Phoenix.
Their next game will take place on Wednesday against Colombia.
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