Turner's grand slam lifts US over Venezuela, into WBC semis

MIAMI (AP) Trea Turner hit a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning that lifted the United States over Venezuela 9-7 Saturday night and into the World Baseball Classic semifinals.

The defending champion Team USA will face Cuba on Sunday night for a spot in the WBC championship.

Venezuela second baseman and Houston Astros star Jose Altuve left the game in the fifth with a right hand injury after he was hit by a pitch from Daniel Bard. The Astros said there would be an update on his status Sunday.

Trailing 7-5, the United States loaded the bases in the eighth on a walk, single and hit by pitch against losing pitcher Jose Quijada. Silvino Bracho relieved and then Turner, the ninth batter in the U.S. lineup, sent his 0-2 changeup 407 feet to deep left field for the third grand slam in Team USA history.

David Bednar, the fifth U.S. pitcher, got the win. Ryan Pressly got three outs for the save.

Luis Arraez, playing the ballpark that he’ll soon call home with the Miami Marlins, hit two home runs for Venezuela.

The U.S. team boasts a roster of big names that many picked to repeat as WBC champions.

All nine batters in Team USA’s lineup are all-stars, including Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado.

The United States is in the top six in the tournament in batting average (.296), RBIs (34) and hits (48), and every U.S. starter had a hit Saturday night.

Venezuela took a 6-5 lead in a four-run fifth after Ronald Acuña Jr.’s sacrifice fly to deep center field.

Salvador Perez drove in the tying run with a line-drive double that sneaked just inside the left-field foul line.

Arraez hit a two-run drive to right field in the first, his first home run in his new home park, and added another in the seventh to give Venezuela a two-run lead. Arraez, the reigning AL batting champion, was traded to the WBC host Miami Marlins this offseason after four seasons in Minnesota.

Bard replaced starter U.S. starter Lance Lynn with a three-run lead in the fifth and loaded the bases with two walks, an infield hit and a hit by pitch that injured Altuve.

Bard was pulled after Gleyber Torres scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-3. Venezuela added its last three runs against Jason Adam, who managed to get out of the inning in 10 pitches.

Team USA hit five straight singles to start the game. Betts led off the first with an infield single, then the speedster raced from first to third on Trout’s single, forcing a throwing error by Acuña to score.

Kyle Tucker also hit a homer for the U.S.

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BOSTON – The last time Adley Rutschman recalls feeling this level of emotion on a baseball field was playing in front of intimate, 5,000-seat crowds in college at Oregon State.

He trumped that experience at Fenway Park on Thursday in his first career opening day start.

“This blows that out of the water,” Rutschman said.

Rutschman became the first catcher in major league history with five hits in an opener, and the Baltimore Orioles survived a wild ninth inning to beat the Boston Red Sox 10-9.

“To have that close game in the ninth inning and the crowd get so loud. You kind of sit there and say, ‘This is pretty cool,’” said Rutschman, the top overall pick in the 2019 draft.

Rutschman – who debuted for the Orioles last May and quickly became indispensable to the young, resurgent club – homered in his first at-bat and finished 5-for-5 with a career-best four RBIs and a walk on a chilly day at Fenway Park, with a temperature of 38 degrees at first pitch.

Ramon Urias hit a two-run homer for Baltimore, which finished with 15 hits, nine walks and five stolen bases.

Kyle Gibson (1-0) allowed four runs and six hits over five-plus innings to earn his first opening-day victory since his 2021 All-Star season with Texas. Gibson gave up an RBI groundout in the first inning before retiring nine straight Red Sox hitters.

The Orioles nearly gave the game away in the ninth.

With Baltimore leading 10-7, closer Félix Bautista walked pinch-hitter Raimel Tapia. Alex Verdugo followed with a single and advanced to second on an error by center fielder Cedric Mullins.

Rafael Devers struck out. Justin Turner then reached on an infield single to third when Urias’ throw was wide, scoring Tapia. Masataka Yoshida grounded to shortstop Jorge Mateo, who stepped on second for the force but threw wildly to first, allowing Verdugo to score.

Bautista struck out Adam Duvall on three pitches to end it and earn the save.

The Orioles scored four runs in the fourth and three in the fifth to take an 8-2 lead. Baltimore led 10-4 before Bryan Baker allowed three runs in the eighth to give the Red Sox some hope.

The eighth could have been even better for the Red Sox had Devers, who led off the inning, not become the first player in major league history to strike out on a pitch clock violation. Devers was looking down and kicking debris off his cleats when umpire Lance Barksdale signaled a violation that resulted in strike three.

“There’s no excuse,” said Alex Cora, who dropped to 0-5 in opening-day games as Boston’s manager. “They know the rules.”

Boston offseason addition and two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber (0-1) struggled in his Fenway debut, surrendering five runs on six hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings.

“Less than ideal,” Kluber said. “Didn’t turn out the way I would have hoped for.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: Christian Arroyo stayed in the game after taking an inadvertent cleat to the side of his head in the second inning. Arroyo was applying a tag to Rutschman at second base as he attempted to stretch out a single. Rutschman’s leg flipped over as he slid awkwardly. … LHP James Paxton was placed on the 15-day inured list (retroactive to March 27) with a strained right hamstring.

GOOD COMPANY

Rutschman, one of six Baltimore players making his first opening-day appearance, became the youngest Oriole to homer in his first opening-day at-bat since Cal Ripken Jr. in 1984.

BIG BAGS

The Orioles took advantage of MLB’s bigger bases – going from 15- to 18-inch squares – that are being used for the first time this season. Baltimore hadn’t stolen five bases in a game since last June 24 against the White Sox. Mullins and Jorge Mateo swiped two bags apiece, and Adam Frazier got a huge jump on his steal against reliever Ryan Brasier. There was nothing Boston catcher Reese McGuire could do to stop them and on the majority of Baltimore’s steals, he didn’t bother to throw.

FINAL SPOTS

Right-hander Kaleb Ort and Tapia earned Boston’s final two roster spots to open the season. Tapia got the nod over Jarren Duran, who was sent down to Triple-A Worcester. Ort pitched a scoreless sixth with one strikeout Thursday.

UP NEXT

Orioles: RHP Dean Kremer will make is sixth career start against Boston when the three-game series resumes on Saturday. In 11 road starts last season, he went 5-3 with a 3.63 ERA.

Red Sox: LHP Chris Sale, who has pitched in only 11 games over the past three years due to injuries, is set to begin his seventh season in Boston.

Turner’s grand slam lifts U.S. over Venezuela, into WBC semis

Rutschman has five hits in opener, Orioles outlast Red Sox 10-9