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TOKYO – Team USA aims to return to its winning ways in its Super Round finale, taking on Venezuela. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. local/10:00 p.m. ET (Nov. 22) at the Tokyo Dome.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Touki Toussaint (USA) vs. Jesus Vargas (VEN)
SUPER ROUND STANDINGS
Japan (2-0)
Venezuela (1-1)
Chinese Taipei (1-1)
Team USA (0-2)
LAST TIME OUT
Chinese Taipei was leading 3-2 in the seventh when it rattled off five more runs to pull away from Team USA and eventually win, 8-2, on Friday afternoon at the Tokyo Dome. Zac Grotz started for the U.S. and danced around trouble in each of his three innings, finishing the game with 2.2 innings pitched and five hits allowed but yielding zero runs. Sam Benschoter allowed two runs in the fourth, but the U.S. responded with one of its own in the bottom of the inning, and the two sides exchanged homers with Colby Thomas smoking his second in as many days to pull Team USA within 3-2 after five. But for the first time all tournament, Spencer Patton struggled, not retiring a batter and allowing five runs in the seventh. The five-run frame was all Taipei needed as the visiting team polished off its first Super Round win.
HISTORY AGAINST VENEZUELA
Since first meeting at the 2000 Pan American Cup, Team USA and Venezuela are deadlocked at seven wins aside in 14 all-time meetings. The two sides have met twice at the Premier12 with Venezuela winning each time, including earlier in the 2024 iteration. Before the U.S. played Venezuela on November 11, the last meeting between Team USA and Venezuela came at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, when Trea Turner lifted the stars and stripes to a 9-7 quarterfinal round victory.
STARTING OFF STRONG
Team USA’s starting pitchers have been lights-out through seven games at the Premier12. The team’s starters have pitched 22.0 innings and allowed just four earned runs, good for a 1.64 combined ERA. The staff has 27 strikeouts to just four walks in those 22.0 innings of work, surrendering just four extra-base hits. Rich Hill is at the forefront of the strong starting pitching, accounting for nearly half of the innings (10.1) with a 0.00 ERA.
SEVEN STRAIGHT FOR SIMPSON
Chandler Simpson has a hit in seven consecutive games out of the leadoff spot for Team USA, collecting a knock in every game of the Premier12 so far. The speedy outfielder has nine hits dating back to his last four games and has also stolen five bases in that timeframe.
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE
Colby Thomas has now hit solo home runs in each of the last two games for Team USA. Thomas hit a go-ahead homer in the fifth inning against Japan on Thursday before another fifth-inning blast against Chinese Taipei got the U.S. within one. He joins Matt Shaw and Ryan Ward as the three U.S. hitters with multiple home runs in tournament play.
SPEED KILLS
Of the six players atop the Premier12 stolen base leaderboard, three of them belong to Team USA. Chandler Simpson’s seven swiped bags lead all players, while Carson Williams has added four and Matt Shaw has picked up three bags.
WILLY WALKS
Carson Williams has drawn seven walks for the stars and stripes, the most of any player at the Premier12. The shortstop has three multi-walk games and has reached first via the base on balls at least once in four different games during the tournament.
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.
