Italy is preparing to face Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic semifinal. It has been an improbable run to this point for Italy, as Francico Cervelli has pulled all the right moves.
Now, Cervelli is making another move, this time for his starting pitcher against Venezuela, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network.
It will be Aaron Nola getting the start against Venezuela instead of Michael Lorenzen.
This may have been a wise move for the team. Nola was great in his first start at the WBC. He pitched five innings, giving up just four hits and a walk, and striking out five. Further, he did not give up a run in the 9-1 victory over Mexico.
Meanwhile, Mexico has a very similar team offense to Venezuela. Both Mexico and Venezuela sit as higher slugging teams than Team USA, who would be the next opponent should Italy advance. They both have nearly identical batting averages and OPS numbers as well. They also both have eight home runs in the tournament. Nola has shown to be better in recent years than Lorenzen in preventing the long ball, which could have played into the decision, along with the fact that the next game would be against the United States.
Lorenzen was great against the United States, who, while having power in their bats as well, also have more of an ability to manufacture runs and get on base. That is something Lorenzen is great at limiting. Lorenzen went 4.2 innings against Team USA last time he pitched, giving up two hits and a walk, while striking out two and not giving up a run in the 8-6 victory.
Italy will be loaded up on espresso tonight, as they hope to advance to the final over Venezuela with first pitch set for 8 pm ET.
