On Thursday, Team USA played its second exhibition spring training game.
They faced off against the Los Angeles Angels, with slugger Mike Trout playing against his Angels teammates for the first time.
After a 5-1 loss on Wednesday night to the San Francisco Giants, Team USA came out swinging on Thursday.
Nolan Arenado led the way, hitting a grand slam in the top of the third inning and helping guide the team to a 6-0 victory.
After the game, the team’s manager and former MLB star Mark DeRosa commented on the game and talked about what he saw out of his players that he liked.
"All in all, just a good game… everyone felt like they contributed, I love the way we played."
Hear from @USABaseball manager @markdero7 after their exhibition against the Angels ahead of group play on Saturday.#WorldBaseballClassic | @WBCBaseball pic.twitter.com/F0OyT9qA7G
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) March 10, 2023
Merrill Kelly started the game for Team USA and struck out four batters over three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.
DeRosa said that he was very impressed by the way the veteran right-hander pitched on Thursday, and also briefly discussed his pickoff move.
DeRosa went on to praise the rest of his pitching staff for their work on Thursday, including Daniel Bard, Devin Williams, and Brooks Raley, each of whom threw a scoreless inning after Kelly’s exit.
He said that Arenado’s grand slam gave the team a much-needed jolt early in the game and got them going against the Angels.
Overall, DeRosa was impressed by the at-bats his players took and the all-around effort of his team, saying he felt like everybody contributed on Thursday and that he ultimately was proud of the way they played.
Team USA’s first game in the World Baseball Classic will take place on Saturday night against Great Britain.
NEXT: Nick Martinez Discusses Representing Team USA
