Mexico pounced all over the United States during early going of their World Baseball Classic matchup in Phoenix on Sunday night. Much of Mexico's offense came courtesy of slugger Joey Meneses, who had three hits, including two massive home runs, by the end of the fourth inning.
After hitting a home run in the first to open the scoring off Nick Martinez, Meneses followed it up with another devastating three-run home run off Brady Singer in the fourth to give Mexico a 7-1 lead, and threw in an equally gutting bat flip to match.
With absolutely no regard for human life, Meneses sent the baseball flying, and his bat wasn't far behind it.
Meneses's teammates were just as fired up, coming out of the dugout to greet him and put a sombrero on his head.
Considering his background and the USA’s status as the WBC’s defending champions, it's quite the underdog story. Meneses spent 10 years working his way out of the minor leagues, finally reaching MLB in 2022. He more than delivered when he finally got his shot in the bigs, as the 30-year-old hit 13 home runs in 56 games for the Nationals.
Early on in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Meneses is proving that his hot hand at the plate last year was anything but a fluke.
It seems like the crowd was absolutely loving it at Chase Field, where MVP chants rained down for Meneses amid his monster game.
