Team Canada tops Blue Jays
The Canadian team set to compete at the upcoming World Baseball Classic tuned up on Tuesday with a 6-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla.
Canada will begin the WBC with a game against the United States on Saturday afternoon at Rogers Centre in Toronto. Venezuela and Italy are also in Canada's pool in the 16-team tournament.
It was one of several games Tuesday between international squads and major league teams, including the Americans taking on the New York Yankees, Venezuela facing the Detroit Tigers and the Dominican Republic in action against the Florida Marlins.
Catcher Luke Carlin went 2-for-2 and struck the decisive blow for Team Canada, breaking a tie game in the sixth inning with a two-run double. That made the score 5-3 and Canada maintained its lead, with Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher David Davidson working a clean ninth inning to seal the game.
Peter Orr also had two runs batted in, with Minnesota Twins star Justin Morneau and Shawn Bowman driving in the other runs.
Canada's Scott Richmond had the unique opportunity to pitch to his regular major league team, working just under three innings against the Blue Jays.
Aaron Matthews hit a solo home run for Toronto; Randy Ruiz, Jason Lane and Scott Campbell also knocked in runs.
Many of Toronto's veterans were rested by manager Cito Gaston for the game. The Blue Jays will take on the United States squad on Wednesday.
Toronto dropped to 3-4 in spring training action.
Lefty Mike Maroth, looking to catch on with Toronto after a career spent mostly with the Detroit Tigers, started and gave up two runs in two innings.
The only pitchers out of six to not give up a run were T.J. Beam and Robert Ray, who faced just one batter.
The Blue Jays went up 1-0 in the bottom of the first when Campbell's ground ball brought Joe Inglett across.
Orr drove in two runs for Canada in the second, scoring Boston Red Sox left-fielder Jason Bay and Corey Koskie, who is on the comeback trail after injury problems.
Morneau hit a hard grounder in the next inning off Fabio Castro that escaped Russ Adams to score Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin, who had doubled.
Castro struck out Matt Stairs of the Philadelphia Philles with two on to end the threat.
Lane and Loewen knocked in runs for Toronto for a 3-3 score before Carlin's tiebreaking hit, which came off Blue Jays reliever Bill Murphy.
Koskie scored again in the eighth on Bowman's single, with Matthews countering in the bottom half of the inning for Toronto with his home run.
Canada turned a 4-6-3 double play to end Toronto's last threat.