Ryan Lavarnway and Nate Freiman each smacked home runs Monday in Team Israel’s 15-7 win over Chinese Taipei in the World Baseball Classic.
The first name might not yet be familiar to A’s fans, though the second likely is. The team signed Lavarnway, a backup catcher hopeful, in November and Freiman is a 6-foot-7 former first baseman for the A’s.
Lavarnway hit a two-run shot for Israel in the third inning and Freiman added a three-run dinger in the ninth as Team Israel posted its second win in as many games after a 2-1 win over South Korea on Sunday.