MESA, Ariz. – The last time John Axford played in the World Baseball Classic, he was part of one of the classic baseball brawls of recent memory when Team Canada and Team Mexico mixed it up in Phoenix.
He’d like to avoid that this time around if it’s all the same to you.
Axford threw one scoreless inning for the A’s Thursday in a 5-1 win over the Rangers, will throw a bullpen session Saturday then will fly to Tampa to join Team Canada for their training before heading to Miami for first-round competition.
Axford would clearly like to avoid another brawl like the one against Mexico that stopped the game for about a dozen minutes in the ninth inning.