In a game that appeared to be heading towards the seventh inning mercy rule, the final innings turned out to be more of a nail-biter than earlier anticipated. For the second straight day, coach Ernie Whitt gave the ball to a Baltimore Orioles lefthander, and on Wednesday afternoon Adam Loewen didn't disappoint. While Loewen pitched nearly four scoreless innings, his teammates counted for seven runs, chasing 2005 Cy-Young finalist Dontrelle Willis from the game midway......

Canada faced a tougher challenge than expected in their World Baseball Classic opener Tuesday evening. After giving up three runs during an eighth inning South African rally, Ernie Whitt's team found themselves heading to the ninth trailing by a run. Fortunately the team exploded, scoring four in their next series while creating some breathing room for Minnesota Twins Jesse Crain to close out the 11-8 victory. Former Blue Jay Corey Koskie homered for the Canadians.......