With one leap over the centerfield wall, Adam Jones helped propel Team USA past the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.

  • Team USA 6 (2-1)
  • Dominican Republic 3 (1-2)
  • WBC, Final, Box Score
  • Petco Park, San Diego, CA
In the bottom of the 7th-inning, fans of Team USA knew what was coming. With the very hittable Tyler Clippard on the ropes (as he usually is), Manny Machado hit a bomb to right-centerfield. It was a bomb that had all the earmarks of a solo shot, putting the Dominican Republic just one run shy of a tie ballgame.

Fortunately for the Americans, Adam Jones came to the rescue:

A superhuman effort on the part of the Baltimore Orioles stud outfielder, robbing his team’s best player of a WBC home run propelled the Americans to slay the dragon known as the Dominican Republic on Saturday night. Just like that, with the 6-3 victory, the defending WBC champs have been eliminated.

Andrew McCucthen came through clutch in the 8th-inning with a two-run double, extending the lead to 6-3. Out of the pen, Sam Dyson did the dirty work by retiring 5-of-5 DR hitters prior to Gregerson’s save.

For Jim Leyland‘s club, Royals lefty Danny Duffy got the call and made the most of it. He picked up the win in surrendering just one earned run, two runs and six hits over four innings pitched. Through four relief pitchers, only Clippard was scored on. Luke Gregerson picked up his second save of the tourney.

The other big moment of the game came courtesy of Giancarlo Stanton. With two outs and the game knotted up at 2-2 in the fourth inning, Stanton destroyed one that had StatCast going bonkers:

It provided USA with the relief they needed moving forward. Other than Stanton (2-4), Brandon Crawford was the only American to collect two hits on the night (2-4).

For the DR, Ervin Santana suffered through a disastrous start. He allowed four runs and struck out just two over 3.2 innings. While they collected nine hits in the game, they could simply never string enough together that would bust it open. Gregory Polanco tallied three hits in the game while Robinson Cano went 2-4 with a solo home run in the seventh that made the game 4-3 (after Jones’ HR-robbing heroics).

Suddenly, Team USA is now alive with just four teams remaining in the tournament. Next up will be Japan on Tuesday while the Netherlands and Puerto Rico clash on Monday.

 NEXT: Adam Jones Makes Incredible HR-Saving Catch (Video) 

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Robby Sabo
https://jetsxfactor.com
Robby Sabo is a co-founder, CEO and credentialed New York Jets content creator for Jets X-Factor - Jet X, which includes Sabo's Sessions (in-depth film breakdowns) and Sabo with the Jets. Host: Underdog Jets Podcast with Wayne Chrebet and Sabo Radio. Member: Pro Football Writers of America. Coach: Port Jervis (NY) High School. Washed up strong safety and 400M runner. SEO: XL Media. Founder: Elite Sports NY - ESNY (Sold in 2020). SEO: XL Media. Email: robby.sabo[at]jetsxfactor.com

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