A-Rod, Jeter and Big Papi present the WBC final: “No easy exits”

Team USA and Venezuela needed to win low-scoring games to punch their ticket to Tuesday’s World Baseball Classic final. However, Derek Jeter thinks the championship game could be a little different. After both winning teams scored a total of six points in their semifinal victories, Jeter predicted the U.S.-Venezuela game would be a high-scoring affair. “There’s no easy out in either lineup,” Jeter said on FS1’s postgame show after Venezuela’s 4-2 victory over Italy on Tuesday. “Every pitch is important. Sometimes when you’re a pitcher and you’re navigating a lineup, you have a few guys where you can breathe. You get behind and you might be able to throw a ball over the plate. Neither team can do it. You’ll have to concentrate from one to nine for nine innings. “I expect the offense to show up – I expect the offense to show up on both ends tomorrow night.” Between the United States and Venezuela teams, There are 20 All-Star hitters. But both teams have yet to provide a ton of fireworks. Venezuela has scored five points or less in three of its first six games. The same goes for Team USA, which has only scored seven points in the knockout stage. that a good throw will stop a good attack. If you look closely, both teams weren’t able to attack like everyone hoped. It will be the battle of the pitchers tomorrow. That’s what I expect.” What was key in helping the United States and Venezuela punch their ticket to the WBC Finals on Tuesday were strong performances from their respective bullpens. Team USA’s bullpen didn’t allow a score in more than five innings of work in its semifinal win over the Dominican Republic. Venezuela’s bullpen, meanwhile, didn’t give up a run in 7 ⅔ innings of work Monday. That’s why Alex Rodriguez believes it’s vital that both teams take an early lead in Tuesday’s championship battle. “Whoever’s going to win tomorrow night is going to have to do it early, because both bullpens are out,” Rodriguez said. “The last nine outs aren’t going to be any fun. So it’s critical to be ahead in the first six innings.” Whatever happens, Rodriguez expects the World Baseball Classic to live up to the hype. “It’s going to be must-see television,” Rodriguez said. “I know we had the Oscars a few nights ago, but it’s going to be like an Oscars because these teams played the best, you’re going to have stars everywhere and I can’t wait to think about tomorrow.