Martin Prado's bat and glove carried Team Venezuela to a thrilling 11-10 win over Italy
Baseball is fundamentally a team sport, one with a lot of variables, and every team is dependent on those many moving parts coming together -- even a starting pitcher needs to rely on his defense behind him and some batted-ball luck. With just four or five at-bats and a handful of (mostly routine) chances in the field, it's tough for even the best players to truly swing a game.
Don't tell any of that to
Despite a roster loaded with Major League stars from
With his team clinging to an 8-7 lead in the bottom of the eighth, Prado was determined to keep it that way -- even if it meant transcending the very boundaries of the diamond:
Despite Prado's efforts, the Italians came back. After tying the game at 8, the Italians scratched across two runs in the bottom of the ninth to force extras after
Prado's walk-off single in the 10th finally gave Venezuela the 11-10 win, moving them to 2-0 and in sole place of first in Pool D. They'll face off against Mexico on Sunday night, by which point Prado's Superman uniform will have hopefully arrived.