Team USA Ties Canada 6-6 In Exhibition

Complete Coverage of USA Baseball

By John Manuel
October 26, 2003

Team USA got its first test against an opponent it may face at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Panama, which starts this Friday. It didn't pass, though it didn't fail, either.

The Americans, who went 9-3 in their just-completed Arizona Fall League tour, played to a 6-6 tie with Team Canada on Saturday in a 10-inning contest.

Team USA's offense was excellent in the AFL schedule, averaging almost nine runs a game. However, the lineup took a hit when J.J. Davis (Pirates) was sidelined by a hamstring pull, taking a crucial righthanded bat out of the lineup. Reacting to the loss, Team USA added DH Jonny Gomes (Devil Rays) to the roster for the two Canadian games after Gomes hit six homers to lead the AFL. Gomes made an immediate impact, hitting a solo homer off former all-star Jason Dickson, who got the start for Canada and didn't fare well, The U.S. got a run in the first on Grady Sizemore's RBI single, scoring Mike Rouse, and two more in the second on Gomes' homer and a run-scoring fielder's choice by Jeremy Reed that plated Justin Leone.

The Canadians, who have been playing exhibitions in Arizona against instructional league teams, after potential AFL games on their schedule fell through, responded with two in the second. Team USA made it 6-2 with three runs in the fifth to chase Dickson, who gave up eight hits and six runs, but the Canadian bullpen shut Team USA down over the final 5 2/3 innings. Chris Begg threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out four; lefty Mike Kusiewicz and Chris Meares (Tigers), who finished the season in the big leagues with Detroit, finished up with three shutout innings to finish up.

Jason Stanford started for Team USA and went five innings, as Canada cut into the lead by scoring twice off Stanford in the bottom of the second. Scott Thorman ripped a two-out, two-run single that plated Jeff Guiel and Rob Ducey. It stayed that way until the fifth, when Joe Mauer scorched a bases-loaded double that scored three to expand the Team USA lead to 6-2.

Canada picked up a third run in the fifth when Ducey tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Scott Thorman. They then added an unearned run in the seventh and two more in the eighth off Team USA reliever J.D. Durbin, as Justin Morneau--Durbin's fellow Twins farmhand--drove in the game-tying run. But Americans John Grabow and Royce Ring pitched the final two innings to keep the score tied.

Reed and Gabe Gross were the only Americans with two hits, while Guiel went 3-for-4 and Thorman had three RBIs for Canada.

Team USA manager Frank Robinson and his coaching staff now have one exhibition game with Team Canada remaining to evaluate the 31 players in uniform to determine the 24-man roster that will represent the United States at the Americas Baseball Continental Qualifying Event for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Oct. 30-Nov. 11 in Panama City, Panama. The official 24-man roster will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 28.