From wire reports
David Wright hit a two-out grand slam in the fifth inning and the United States beat Italy 6-2 Saturday night in the World Baseball Classic.
The U.S. (1-1) meets Canada (1-1) in the final game of Pool D play on Sunday with the winner advancing to the second round.
Ryan Vogelsong settled down after a shaky start to get the victory. The San Francisco right-hander went four-plus innings, allowing two runs and six hits, striking out four.
The U.S., bouncing back from Friday night's 5-2 loss to Mexico, fell behind 2-0 after two innings but shut the Italian squad down on two hits the rest of the way.
Italy (2-1) clinched a second-round berth for the first time in its WBC history when Mexico lost to Canada earlier Saturday.
Washington's Ross Detwiler blanked Italy on one hit over the final four innings to get the save.
Vogelsong left after giving up a leadoff single in the fifth, then his Giants teammate Jeremy Affeldt retired three straight to end the inning. Detwiler did the rest.
Wright, Jimmy Rollins, Brandon Phillips and Ryan Braun had two hits apiece for the United States.
Down 2-1 after four innings, the U.S. finally got the big hit it had been lacking in WBC play.
Adam Jones led off the fifth with a walk, then Jonathan Lucroy singled and Phillips singled Jones home to tie it at 2-2.
Ryan Braun narrowly missed a home run on a foul ball to deep left but struck out, then Joe Mauer walked to load the bases.
That brought up Wright, and the New York Mets slugger hit Matt Torra's 1-2 pitch over the left field wall several rows into the seats and the United States had its first lead of the tournament, 6-2.
The Americans squandered an early opportunity when Rollins singled and Phillips reached safely on a bunt for a base hit in the first. But Braun hit into a double play and Mauer flew out.
Italy, off to a surprising 2-0 start in the WBC, scored in its half of the first when Nick Punto singled, advanced to third on Anthony Rizzo's single and scored on Vogelsong's wild pitch.
After two outs in the second, Tyler Latorre singled and scored when Anthony Granato, the No. 9 hitter in the order, doubled over the head of center fielder Adam Jones to make it 2-0.
The U.S. cut it to 2-1 in the fourth when Joe Mauer doubled home Braun.
Meanwhile, Vogelsong was rolling, striking out the final batter in the third and all three in the fourth.
Wright's slam was the second for the United States in its WBC history. The first was by Jason Varitek against Canada on March 8, 2005.
The second baseman Phillips made a spectacular play to rob Mario Charini to end the sixth inning. The Cincinnati Reds star made a diving stop to his right, then threw from a sitting position to first, throwing his hands in the air in triumph when the ball got to the bag ahead of the runner.
Italy used nine pitchers. The second, Marco Brifantini, took the loss, going one inning plus two batters, allowing three runs and three hits.
Brawl mars Canada's win over Mexico
A fierce brawl that saw Alfredo Aceves and several players throw nasty punches erupted Saturday in the ninth inning of Canada’s 10-3 romp over Mexico in the World Baseball Classic in a melee that also involved fans.
The fights broke out after Canada’s Rene Tosoni was hit by a pitch from Arnold Leon with Canada leading 9-3. It turned into a wild scene, as chaotic as any on a major league field in recent years.
Even when the fisticuffs ended, a full water bottle thrown from the crowd struck the face of a Canadian coach. Canada shortstop Cale Iorg angrily threw the bottle back into the crowd.
Several police officers came onto the field trying to restore order, and there were a few skirmishes in the seats. Seven players were ejected.
There had already been several hard plays on the bases when things got out of hand. Shortly before Tosoni was a hit, a bunt single by Canada seemed to heighten the tension – a tiebreaker in the WBC relies heavily on scoring runs, and the Canadians were trying to pad their margin.
Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Morneau and Joey Votto were among the big-name, high-priced stars playing in the game. The fight was exactly the kind of thing that must have made major league managers and general managers cringe at the thought of one of their players getting hurt in such a fracas.
Aceves was among four Mexican players thrown out – the angry Boston reliever was tossed to the ground by Philadelphia minor league outfielder Tyson Gillies during the height of the altercation.
Also ejected were Arnold Leon, Oliver Perez and Eduardo Arredondo of Mexico and Tosoni, Pete Orr and Jay Johnson of Canada. A statement from WBC organizers said tape of the incident would be reviewed for possible disciplinary action.
• Dominican Republic 6, Spain 3: Carlos Santana homered, Robinson Cano had three hits and the Dominican Republic beat Spain 6-3 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Dominican team improved to 2-0 in Group C and will advance to the second round in Miami if Puerto Rico beats Venezuela later Saturday.
Santana and Texas Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz each drove in two runs for the Dominican Republic. Edwin Encarnacion scored twice.
• Dominican Republic 6, Spain 3: Carlos Santana homered, Robinson Cano had three hits and the Dominican Republic beat Spain 6-3 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Dominican team improved to 2-0 in Group C and will advance to the second round in Miami if Puerto Rico beats Venezuela later Saturday.
Santana and Texas Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz each drove in two runs for the Dominican Republic. Edwin Encarnacion scored twice.
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Yankees: Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera made their 2013 spring training debuts Saturday in the Yankees’ 2-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves, which dropped New York’s AL-worst exhibition record to 3-11.
The 38-year-old Jeter was a designated hitter and singled sharply to left field on his first pitch since breaking his left ankle on Oct. 13 in the AL championship series opener. Jeter, who missed New York’s first 13 spring training games, grounded out to third base in his only other at-bat.
Jeter, immobile for part of the offseason following surgery on Oct. 20, is scheduled to DH again Monday. He could return to shortstop on Wednesday.
The 43-year-old Rivera was back on the mound, just hours after announcing this will be his final season. In his first game since April 30, he threw a 1-2-3 fifth inning that required 15 pitches. He looked like his overpowering self of old, retiring Dan Uggla on a popup to second and then throwing called third strikes past Juan Francisco and Chris Johnson.
Rivera made just nine appearances last season before he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while shagging fly balls on May 3. Rivera had surgery on June 12.
He called the day “overwhelming.”
“It was wonderful,” Rivera said.
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Angels: Albert Pujols hit his first spring training home run, a third-inning drive off Juan Nicasio during Los Angeles’ 8-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies. Pujols, coming off right knee surgery during the off-season, was 0 for 3 Tuesday against Cincinnati in his spring training debut. The three-time MVP again was the designated hitter against Colorado and went 1 for 3.
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Diamondbacks-White Sox: Adam Eaton had four hits, Aaron Hill added three, Eric Chavez knocked in three runs, and A.J Pollack homered and drove in two runs in Arizona’s 11-9 victory over Chicago. Starting pitchers Brandon McCarthy of the Diamondbacks, and Chicago’s John Danks struggled, but their spring training numbers aren’t the main concern now. McCarthy is coming back from a skull fracture and other head and brain injuries, sustained in September when he was struck by a line drive.
Because of left shoulder problems and season-ending surgery in August, Danks pitched in only nine games in 2012 – the last on May 19. The 28-year-old made his second spring start on Saturday.
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