March 9, 1961
American Horror Story
Four days. Four games. Four losses.
That's been the story of the American team in this year's World Baseball Championship. Considered one of the favorites heading in, they've failed to score a win and while not mathmetically eliminated from advancing, it would take a miracle. Most experts thought that they had the roster to dominate and that they had a favorable draw in Pool B. It hasn't turned out that way.
It started with the walk-off loss to Canada, a game they led 4-2 going into the bottom of the 9th. The shocking loss has sent them into a death spiral, falling to Venezuela (3-1), Germany (6-4), and the most recent and inexusable loss to New Zealand (3-1). The Kiwis had entered that game winless as well, and they went just 1-6 a year ago.
Of course, some of this can be attributed to a small sample size, but this can't be considered anything except a massive disappointment. Team USA hyped up their "Killer J" lineup featuring Jacob Yoachum, Josh Dillow, and Jay Givens, but the offense is averaging just 2.5 runs per game. Givens has collected just three singles in 17 trips to the plate.
They still have games remaining with pool-leading England, a 2-1 Greece team, and Nicaragua. It's statistically possible but logistically unlikely that a 3-4 team will advance.
Elsewhere on Day 4, Cuba and South Korea each suffered their first loss, leaving just three unbeaten teams, and they're all European: The host Netherlands squad moved to 4-0 while England and France both sit at 3-0.