Loewen, Canada stun Team USA

PHOENIX -- Less than 24 hours after nearly falling to an unheralded South Africa team, Canada made some serious waves in the World Baseball Classic's Pool B by beating Team USA, 8-6, on Wednesday afternoon at Chase Field.

Canada (2-0) will clinch a berth in the second round of the Classic if Mexico loses to South Africa on Wednesday night. It also will secure a spot with a win over Mexico on Thursday.

If, on the other hand, Mexico beats South Africa and Canada, then you'll need a calculator to figure out who advances. Canada can move on with a loss to Mexico, but only if it allows one or two runs in that loss. If Canada allows three or more runs to Mexico, Team USA and Mexico will advance based on the tiebreaker of runs allowed, and Canada would be the odd team out.

Canada, though, as Wednesday's shocker proved, doesn't seem like it's ready to lose any time soon.

"I know for a fact that we don't have the depth that other countries have," Canada manager Ernie Whitt said. "But we do have a lot of heart, and that's why I enjoy managing this team."

Eyebrows were raised when Whitt elected to flip-flop starting pitchers Erik Bedard and Adam Loewen, which meant that Loewen, who pitched in Class A last year, would face a USA lineup jammed with experienced Major League hitters.

But Loewen made Whitt look like a genius, as the lefty used his cut fastball to come in on right-handers during 3 2/3 scoreless innings.

"A lot of people questioned why we made the switch, why we would throw a young gun into a situation like that," Whitt said. "But to me, it's a coming-out party for Loewen, and he handled it very well and kept us in the game."

Actually, his outing did more than that, because while he was throwing up zeroes, his teammates were battering United States starter Dontrelle Willis and reliever Al Leiter.

Canada scored in each of the first five innings to build an 8-0 advantage. Four of the runs were a direct result of No. 9 hitter Adam Stern, who tripled in a run, singled in two, and drove in another with an inside-the-park homer in the fifth.

"There's no question Adam is swinging the bat well," Whitt said. "I think the biggest thing is with that, he came into this tournament pumped, excited, wanted to play. But not just with Adam but every other guy on this team, they wanted to be here."

Stern also wants to be in the Major Leagues, and if Wednesday was a coming-out party for Loewen, it was equally so for Stern. The 26-year-old was a Rule 5 Draft pick by the Red Sox last year and suffered through an injury-plagued 2005. He saw very little playing time and wound up with a .133 batting average.

"Obviously, last year was tough -- battling injuries, and I didn't play a lot," he said. "I want to go out there and play, that's what I want to do. I love the game a lot."

Stern deflected the attention after the game from himself to his teammates and his country.

"They have the most talent, I won't lie," Stern said of the United States. "But that's why we play the games. One game, you don't know what's going to happen. Over 162, I don't know if we'd fare so hot. But one game, you've just got to go out there and bust it, and that's what we did."

After Canada scored a run in the top of the first off Willis, it looked like Team USA would respond with a big inning in the bottom half, as it loaded the bases with one out for Chipper Jones.

But Loewen got Jones, who hit a solo homer in USA's 2-0 win over Mexico on Tuesday, to ground into an inning-ending double play, and the tone was set.

"We had a chance with the bases loaded early in the ballgame and didn't take advantage of it, and that kind of gave (Loewen) some confidence," USA manager Buck Martinez said. "He showed a lot of poise for a guy who hasn't pitched above A-ball."

That double play helped Loewen settle down because he was admittedly more nervous for this start than any previous one.

"At that point we were only up 1-0, so we really needed to bear down and get those two outs," he said. "I had to make the best pitch that I possibly could and hope for the best. It kind of set the tone for the next couple of innings. I felt more comfortable out there."

The United States made things interesting in the bottom of the fifth, as it put together a six-run rally that was capped when Jason Varitek cracked a two-out grand slam to center. The blast, which came off Eric Cyr, brought USA to within 8-6.

"He's obviously an All-Star hitter and I made a mistake and he took advantage of it," Cyr said. "After that, I just calmed down a little bit, and just got back in the game and got focused."