Pyle of List

Well, we can’t win them all. Apparently.

After completely embarassing Venezuela on Sunday, USA lost the rematch last night.

Game 3 - USA 3, Venezuela 5

By only hitting 1 HR, the USA could not manufacture runs. I knew that when the power ran out (which was bound to happen at this point in the season for these guys) that they would struggle. And while I appreciate the effort of the double steal in the 9th, it still was with questionable personnel. You send Old Man Jeter on the back end of that deal? The real travesty is that we let Victor Zambrano shut our offense down. For those of you unfamiliar, Victor is the bad Zambrano.

For once, the starting pitching wasn’t the problem. Ted Lilly went three strong innings only giving up 1 run (earned) on 3 hits with 0 BB and 2 Ks. It was the bullpen that failed us. Well, maybe it’s unfair to blame the entire bullpen. Jeremy Guthrie failed us. 4 runs (all earned) in two innings (on 7 hits and 2 BB) makes for a bad bad day. But why was he allowed to face two more batters than Lilly on the night? Hey, clearly he doesn’t have his best stuff so let’s pack up the bags and move onto the next one inning wonder in our bullpen!

USA Player of the Game: Chris Iannetta (1 for 1, HR, BB, run, 2 RBI)

USA Goat of the Game: Jeremy Guthrie (2.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 hits, 2 BB, 2 K)