Colombia, the most dominant team in Tucson by far, qualified for its third straight World Baseball Classic by outscoring Brazil, China and Germany 23-1 (with the run unearned) at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The Colombians beat Brazil 5-0 and China 8-1 before defeating Germany 10-0 in seven innings Tuesday night.
The 2,137 in attendance saw lefty starter Adrian Almeida (former New York Mets and Los Angeles Angels farmhand) and four relievers combine on a four-hit shutout with seven strikeouts and two walks against the Germans.
“The main focus for our pitching staff was getting ahead, working the count, and putting hitters away with the best secondary pitches,” Almeida said through a translator (first-base coach Jaime Del Valle). “(Catcher Jair) Camargo did a really good job for me behind the plate tonight –- the game planning, the conversations before the game and the execution of the game was right on point.”
Dilson Herrera (played with the Mets, Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles from 2014 to 2020), continued his hot batting going 4 for 4 with a run and RBI.
Jesús Marriaga (briefly in the Arizona Diamondbacks farm system from 2016 to 2019) followed his four-RBI performance against China on Monday by going 2 for 4 with a run and two RBIs against Germany.
“We’re just very excited to actually make the (WBC) tournament,” Herrera said with Del Valle translating. “That was our main goal. There was a lot of preparation coming into this tournament in all aspects of the game.”
Brazil’s hitting was impressive in the three wins but what really was the difference was its shut-down pitching that included former Arizona left-hander Rio Gomez as a starter Monday night against China.
The numbers in the three victories:
— 25 innings pitched
— 10 hits allowed
— One run allowed (unearned)
— Five walks
— 27 strikeouts
COLOMBIA’S PERFORMANCE IN 2023 WBC IN PHOENIX A MOTIVATOR
Colombia appeared as if it could have a special time in Phoenix’s Chase Field in 2023 when the WBC was played there after beating Mexico, with a decided homefield advantage, in the opener.
But Colombia went on to lose against Great Britain, Canada and the United States.
“I know what happened two years ago,” third baseman Gio Urshela of the Oakland Athletics said. “We feel really bad about it. Now this time, hopefully we’ll be better.”
Urshela drove in a run and scored against Germany.
Colombia manager Jose Mosquera was a bench coach on the 2023 team. He became the manager last June in an attempt to build team chemistry heading into the Tucson Qualifier.
Mosquera is very much a player’s manager with how he relates to his team.
After the win over Germany, he stood near the dugout pumping his fist while some Colombians chanted in the stands.
“We won the locker room first with the team chemistry,” Mosquera said. “Everybody was playing together as a team. That was the biggest thing. We are really excited about how we look as a team for the next Classic.”
Colombia will play in either San Juan, Puerto Rico, Houston, Miami or Tokyo next spring.
GERMANY VS. BRAZIL THURSDAY FOR OTHER WBC SPOT
After Colombia breezed through the competition, now comes the high drama.
Brazil and Germany played the closest game to this point in the Tucson Qualifier with Brazil holding on to beat the Germans 9-7 on Monday.
They will meet again at 6 p.m. at Kino with their future in the WBC on the line. The winner will celebrate with their country. The loser must wait until the next qualifying rounds in 2028.
Schedule
Thursday
- No. 2 Brazil (2-1) vs. No. 3 Germany (1-2), 6 p.m. (No. 1 Colombia has qualified for the 2026 World Baseball Classic)
- College Night ($1 hotdogs/$2 beers)
- TO PURCHASE TICKETS CLICK HERE
Brazil has sons of former big-leaguers — Lucas Ramirez (Manny Ramirez) and Dante Bichette Jr. — and Germany has the son of tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf — Jaden Agassi.
Brazil also has one of the most unique stories of the Tucson Qualifier — utility player Osvaldo Carvalho, who is taking a break from his work as a construction worker in his home country to play in the event.
Carvalho went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and an RBI in Brazil’s 12-2 win in seven innings over China on Tuesday.
“It’s always a big honor to play and represent Brazil,” Carvalho said through an interpreter. “That’s why we do our best every time we go on the field.”
Brazil manager Yuichi Matsumoto said of Carvalho: “Osvaldo is a great player, and it was the perfect opportunity for him to show his skills. We also wanted to try (Gabriel) Gomes in left field, so it was a good situation for us. All the respect to the China team, but we could do these tests today.”
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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