LOS ANGELES — Luke Gregerson’s final strike breezed past Nobuhiro Matsuda, and the rain-drenched American players celebrated on the field while a soaked crowd roared through the evening mist.
A daylong downpour couldn’t dampen this resilient United States club or its fans, who will finally get to root for the home team in a World Baseball Classic championship game.
Brandon Crawford scored the tiebreaking run when Matsuda bobbled Adam Jones‘ grounder to third in the eighth inning, and the United States reached the WBC final for the first time by beating Japan 2-1 on Tuesday night at rainy Dodger Stadium.