U.S. starting pitcher Touki Toussaint
GROUP A STANDINGS
Panama (2-1)
Venezuela (2-1)
Netherlands (1-1)
Puerto Rico (1-1)
Team USA (1-2)
Mexico (1-2)
HISTORY AGAINST PANAMA
The United States is 12-1 all-time (0-0 Premier12) against Panama since first meeting in 1999 at the Pan American Games. Panama’s only victory against the U.S. came at the 2002 Americas Series, a 5-0 victory in the opening round. The last meeting between the two nations came in 2011, when Team USA notched an 11-0 win at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Drew Smyly tossed six shutout innings in the victory and Brett Carroll drove in three runs.
LAST TIME OUT
Team USA dropped a 5-3 contest to Venezuela on Monday night. The U.S. put together a pair of rallies in the last two innings of the game, getting the tying run to the plate in the eighth and the tying run in scoring position in the ninth but coming up just short. Matt Shaw continued his torrid start to the Premier12 with a fourth-inning home run to tie the score at one, and later added a game-tying sac fly to equalize the game at two. But Venezuela took advantage of walks and defensive miscues to plate three runs in the sixth and was able to hold off the two late U.S. rallies to pick up the win. Shaw was one of five Team USA players to pick up a hit, but the United States struck out 16 times. On the mound, Zac Grotz started and threw 3.2 innings. Eric Adler suffered the loss as he was on the mound for the three-run outburst.
SHAW CAN’T STOP
Matt Shaw is still atop the Premier12 leaderboard in nearly every category. His 2.056 OPS is the highest in the tournament, and his nine RBIs are four more than the player with the second-most. Shaw is batting .727 and ties for the tournament lead in home runs (2), hits (8), and stolen bases (2).
SIMPSON STAYS HOT
Chandler Simpson has picked up at least one hit in all three games played at the Premier12. He had a hit against Puerto Rico, collected two knocks and drew two walks against the Netherlands (also scoring three runs), and went 1-for-3 with a run scored against Venezuela.
PITCHER PERFECT
Six pitchers in the U.S. bullpen have turned in perfect outings of at least one inning. Spencer Patton and Darrell Thompson each have two perfect frames under their belt, while Dan Altavilla, Austin Drury, Anthony Gose, and Austin Vernon have all spun 1-2-3 frames in their respective outings.
THE FUTURE IS NOW
Six players on Team USA’s roster have played in the MLB All-Star Futures Game, including five players who competed in the event in 2024: Drake Baldwin, Justin Crawford, Termarr Johnson, Matt Shaw, and Chandler Simpson. Crawford also earned a spot in the 2023 iteration of the Futures Game, while Willie MacIver played in the event in 2019.
TOP SPECTS
The U.S. roster features four players who rank in the MLB Pipeline Top 100, including two players who are the top-ranked prospect for their respective Club. Carson Williams ranks as the fourth-best prospect in baseball and atop Tampa Bay’s Top 30 Prospects, while Matt Shaw leads the way for the Cubs and is the 22nd-ranked prospect in the sport. Additionally, Justin Crawford sits at No. 53 and Termarr Johnson ranks No. 75 in the Top 100.
BIG LEAGUERS
The U.S. roster features nine players with MLB playing experience, combining for 57 big-league seasons. Rich Hill leads the way with 20 MLB seasons under his belt, while Dan Altavilla, Anthony Gose, Spencer Patton, and Touki Toussaint bring at least five seasons of big-league time to the roster. Zac Grotz, Casey Lawrence, Chris Okey, and Cam Vieaux have also had stints in the major leagues.
MVPs!
Justin Crawford and Matt Shaw have each earned a Most Valuable Player honor in the past two seasons. In 2023, Crawford was named the Florida State League MVP after hitting .344 with 16 doubles, 60 RBIs, and 40 stolen bases for the Clearwater Threshers (A). Shaw nabbed Southern League MVP honors in 2024 following a season in which he smacked 14 homers and drove in 50 runs while batting .279 over 86 games with the AA Tennessee Smokies.
FATHERS AND SONS
Thirteen years after Rich Hill was teammates with Carl Crawford on the Boston Red Sox, Hill now teams up with Carl’s son, Justin, on the 2024 Premier12 roster. Hill and Carl were also teammates on the 2016 Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Publish date : 2024-11-12 03:57:00
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