USA Calls on Oswalt in Semifinals
March 20, 2009 by Stephen Kersey
Filed under Games Worth Watching, Global Baseball
For their semifinal game against Japan, the United States will put the ball in Roy Oswalt’s hand. In his last outing, Oswalt delivered four shutout innings against the Netherlands in a must-win game.
Roy Oswalt, World Baseball Classic 2009 (Image: Newscom)
Facing another must-win game, the US is going back to the pitcher who is regarded by many as the best big game starter on the roster. The 31-year-old has spent his entire career with the Houston Astros.
Although Japan hasn’t officially named their starter, most followers expect Daisuke Matsuzaka to get the start. Last year with the Boston Red Sox, Matsuzaka had an 18-3 record with a 2.90 ERA.
The winner of the USA versus Japan will face the winner of Korea versus Venezuela. The championship game of the 2009 World Baseball Classic will take place on Monday at Dodger Stadium.
Japan won the first World Baseball Classic in 2006 and Matsuzaka was named the Most Valuable Player of the WBC.
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Check out what others are saying about this post...[...] of the United States versus Japan matchup for the championship of the World Baseball Classic. Roy Oswalt will get the start for the U.S. and Daisuke Matsuzaka will start for Japan in the game that is to be played on [...]