After falling by a score of 5-1 against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night, Team USA put the loss behind them and came out swinging against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday.
Led by Nolan Arenado‘s grand slam and three scoreless innings from right-hander Merrill Kelly, the Americans defeated the Angels by a final of 6-0 in their final tune-up before their World Baseball Classic schedule begins on Saturday.
After their impressive win over the Angels, Arenado spoke with the media.
The St. Louis Cardinals star third baseman praised the team’s effort on Thursday, saying that as long as they play hard, they’ll have a good chance win the tournament.
"There's so many great hitters, we don't have to do too much. We just have to… play hard and we're going to be fine."
Nolan Arenado spoke with @jonmorosi about his @USABaseball teammates and hitting a grand slam in today's exhibition game.#WorldBaseballClassic | @WBCBaseball pic.twitter.com/13BSQaXseb
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) March 10, 2023
Arenado first talked about the opportunity to share a batting cage with so many great hitters and praised them for the way they prepare and go about their business on a daily basis.
He says it’s interesting to hear about what each player’s process is as they prepare for the Classic and that he enjoys being around his teammates.
Arenado says he has already learned a lot and he is ready to learn even more as the WBC progresses.
He then discussed his grand slam and praised Tim Anderson, Mookie Betts, and Paul Goldschmidt for keeping the line moving, which he said was his approach during the at-bat.
He said his goal was to simply get Anderson home from third base.
Once again, Arenado praised his teammates and their ability to hit in key situations.
Team USA plays its first WBC game on Saturday, with Arenado’s Cardinals teammate Adam Wainwright drawing the start.
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