SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico \u2013 The Canadians were so hyped for their World Baseball Classic opener that, led by Michael Soroka, they charged out from the dugout for the first pitch before being cued and had to be pulled back from the field. A game official spoke to Josh Naylor and Tyler O\u2019Neill by the dugout while the managers were brought out to exchange lineups at home plate, where there was a surprise in store, and only once through with the formalities could the festivities begin.<\/p>\n
When they finally did, the Naylor brothers set the tone with their defensive play as Soroka settled in and Owen Caissie delivered a key early blow with a two-run homer before the offence added late in an 8-2 victory over Colombia on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like we let it rip early and often,\u201d said Soroka.<\/p>\n
No doubt, and that included shaking off a last-minute Colombian pitching change revealed during the meeting between managers and umpires at the plate, with Texas Rangers farmhand Austin Bergner subbed in for former big-leaguer Julio Teheran, whom the club said had been diagnosed with a\u00a0shoulder impingement that flared up during warmups.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes you see in international play the little trickery that goes on, but I wouldn’t think that from Jose (Mosquera),\u201d manager Ernie Whitt said of his Colombian counterpart. \u201cIt was honest.\u201d<\/p>\n
No matter, the result gave the Canadians firm control of their fate heading into their Sunday clash with Panama, when Jameson Taillon gets the ball, while the Colombians, at 0-2, are suddenly on the precipice.<\/p>\n
Fates can, of course, change quickly amid the unpredictability of small-sample sizes in a mid-spring timeframe, which is why the Canadians will be most pleased by the repeatable elements \u2014 strong work in the field, strike-throwing on the mound, tenacious at-bats \u2014 of their opening victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe emphasized taking care of the baseball, taking care of the little things because over the whole game, those things add up, and they make the difference through nine,\u201d said Bo Naylor, key on all fronts in this one. \u201cIt’s just a matter of playing the game the right way and continuing to play the game that we know how to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Colombians helped some of that along as they squandered a promising first, when\u00a0Michael Arroyo at third with one out, charged home on Reynaldo Rodriguez’s grounder to first. Josh Naylor fielded it clean, relayed to his brother at home for an easy second out and Bo Naylor then threw out Rodriguez trying to steal second to end the frame.<\/p>\n
Undeterred, Colombia tested the Cleveland Guardians catcher again the next inning and when Jesus Marriaga was cut down comfortably, ending consecutive innings with an out at second.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u00a0knew coming in this team was going to run a little bit, they were going to play small ball and push the ball the other way,\u201d said Soroka. \u201cBo did a good job getting rid of it and finding those outs, which was huge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Canada got rolling in the second when Abraham Toro dunked a hustle double into left field and an out later, Caissie sent a hanging curveball from Bergner 403 feet to right field, directly to a pair of fans holding a Canadian flag.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive the boys a little push start. It never really hurts,\u201d said Caissie. \u201cGetting on the board first in these tournaments really matters. Our gameplan was short, but it worked, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n