Phillies Relief Pitcher Pat Neshek Lone Phillie Still in World Baseball Classic
By John Town
With the World Baseball Classic now in the semifinal round, Phillies relief pitcher Pat Neshek is the only Phillie left in the tournament.
When the rosters were announced for the World Baseball Classic back in February, ten Phillies were expected to participate in the tournament. After the weekend’s action, there is just one Phillie left in the tournament: relief pitcher Pat Neshek.
Neshek has pitched 3.2 innings for the United States over three outings. He has not walked a single batter and has struck out three so far. One of those strikeouts came Saturday night against the Dominican Republic at the most opportune time. With runners on second and third, Neshek struck out Pittsburgh’s Starling Marte to end the inning and preserve a 4-2 lead for the U.S.
The final score of the game was 6-3 as the United States moved on the semifinals along with Puerto Rico, Japan, and the Netherlands. The U.S. faces Japan in the semifinal Tuesday night with the winner moving on to the final Wednesday against the winner of the Puerto Rico-Netherlands matchup.
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The U.S.’s win Saturday eliminated Phils reliever Hector Neris and the Dominican Republic. Neris pitched fairly well in the tournament, allowing just one run on a solo home run in 3.1 innings. He also registered two strikeouts, a walk, and 0.90 WHIP.
Also in Pool F with the Dominican Republic and the U.S. was Venezuela. Odubel Herrera and Edubray Ramos were both on the Venezuelan roster.
However, only Herrera ever made an appearance. The outfielder struggled, registering just one hit in 11 at-bats. Venezuela’s manager, Omar Vizquel, swapped out Herrera for Martin Prado in their game against the U.S. Wednesday then had Yangervis Solarte pinch-hit for Herrera after one at-bat the following day.
Beyond Pool F action, catching prospect Jorge Alfaro shined for Colombia. He finished the tournament with an .808 OPS and clobbered a clutch home run in their game against the Dominican Republic earlier in the tournament. The day prior, he nabbed Freddie Freeman of Team Canada trying to steal second with ease.
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Prospect Nick Pivetta also made a nice showing in the tournament for Team Canada. In his lone appearance, he logged four innings of one-run ball. He didn’t walk any batters and struck out one. With Canada being bounced in the first round, Pivetta made an early return to spring training and was reassigned to minor-league camp.
20-year old minor-league pitcher Nick Fanti made one appearance for Team Italy, allowing two hits and striking out one in one inning of work. Italy was also eliminated in the first round.
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Minor-leaguer Kenny Koplove did not make an appearance for the Israeli team. The relief pitcher was Philadelphia’s 17th-round pick in 2015 and the 23-year old had a 3.76 ERA for short-season Williamsport but a 15.43 ERA in Low-A Lakewood.