'Jacked up': Mike Trout propels USA past Colombia, advances to WBC quarterfinals

PHOENIX – There was no need for a calculator.

No need to figure out runs, earned runs, run quotient or batting average.

All that Team USA needed to know after their 3-2 victory Wednesday night over Colombia is that they’ve got a 10 a.m. flight Thursday to Miami.

They are going to the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals and will play Venezuela on Saturday night at loanDepot Park.

They are now three victories from defending their WBC title.

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Anything less, and it’s wait until 2026.

It wasn’t pretty, and it certainly wasn’t easy, but USA survived and advanced as the runner-up in their pool while Mexico won it based on the tiebreaker, beating USA on Sunday evening.

USA would have been involved in their own tiebreaker with Colombia and Canada if they had lost Wednesday, but could still have advanced to the quarterfinal if they lost by three or fewer runs, and it wasn’t a terribly high scoring game.

“I’m not even wrapping my head around it,’’ USA manager Mark DeRosa said before the game. “I'm sure they'll run it by me. Honestly, it's kind of confusing: runs allowed, divided by outs, multiplied by innings played. I just want to win the ball game.’’

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It was Los Angeles Angels All-Star center fielder Mike Trout, captain of Team USA, who made sure their destiny wasn’t complicated.

He had his finest game of the tournament, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, including a two-out, two-run go-ahead single in the fifth inning, and USA’s bullpen did the rest, suffocating Colombia’s offense.

DeRosa employed six relievers and who gave up just two hits in six shutout innings.

Colombia never even threatened against the six-pack of Kendall Graveman, Daniel Bard, David Bednar, Jason Adam , Devin Williams and Ryan Pressly.

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They threw 63 pitches, 45 for strikes with nine strikeouts.

“I mean, God, could they have done better?’’ DeRosa said. “Just awesome domination and execution by those guys. … It comes down to the players. You can sit up all night and script it and plan it. But they've got to execute.’’

Really, the way USA figures it now, the worst is behind them.

They’ve got some tournament experience, they can’t pitch worse than they did against Mexico, and they’re starting to finally relax.

“I wouldn't say it was an exhale,’’ USA outfielder Kyle Schwarber said. “I think it was more just like, 'That's what we're capable of' kind of thing. Baseball is such a weird game where you're going to have games like that Mexico game (11-5 loss). And then you're going to have a game that you have against Canada (12-1 victory) where you break out. You could have a game where you're going to be grinding, kind of how we were against Great Britain (6-2 victory) there for a while.

“It's baseball.’’

They went through their see-saw of emotions in Phoenix, and believe they’ll be much better for it.

“No doubt, you can tell,’’ DeRosa said. “These guys are jacked up.’’

Hey, when you can have a lineup with Mookie Betts, Trout, Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado as the top four hitters, you know they’re capable of exploding at any moment.

This night, it was the Betts and Trout show, with the dynamic duo going 5-for-8 with two runs and three RBI at the top of the order, and just getting warmed up for Miami.

“It's great,’’ Trout said. “We talked about it before this thing even started. Obviously, we got a great group of guys in that clubhouse. You can put the lineup however you want. But it's definitely fun when I know he's going to get a hit. And when he's hot, no one is going to get him out.

“Look at tonight, just keep the inning alive, and give me a chance to drive in some runs. And that's all you can ask.’’

Said Betts: “All I've got to do is get on base and got him behind me. I normally get pitches to hit because they don't want to walk me and put him to the plate with somebody on base. So it's just fun.’’

Now, it’s off to Miami, where they will face Venezuela, who hasn’t lost a game in this tournament, experiencing for the first time what this WBC atmosphere is like, and ready now to go to an environment where they may be treated like a road team.

Considering Trout has never been to the postseason since 2014, baby, bring it on.

“I knew signing up,’’ Trout said, “the atmosphere would be electric. That was one of the reasons I wanted to do it. It's been fun baseball for me.

“Hearing “USA chanted, the chants in the ninth inning, and you look in the stands. and people are waving the American flag, it means a lot to us. And to play for our country, it's been really fun.’’

The preliminaries are over.

Now, it’s about to get real interesting.

“I can’t wait,’’ Goldschmidt says. “I still remember what it was like going there in 2017. It was unbelievable. I can’t wait to experience it again.’’

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