After three straight wins to begin the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), Team USA earned a spot out of Pool B, advancing to the quarterfinal round after defeating Mexico, 5-3, in Houston on Monday night.
Mexico has been the victor in each of the last three matchups against the U.S., including the 2023 game that ended with El Tri taking down the Stars and Stripes, 11-5.
But thanks to some bat power from captain Aaron Judge and 21-year-old Boston Red Sox phenom Roman Anthony, Team USA was able to end that streak at Daikin Park.
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After the U.S. was unable to cash in on bases loaded in the first and runners on in the second, Judge wasted no time hitting his second home run of the tournament, taking Jesus Cruz to right field for a 2-0 lead.
Then, after Kyle Schwarber singled to right, and Cal Raleigh was hit by a pitch, Anthony didn’t miss a stitch of a pitch inside. The towering moonshot took forever to land, and Anthony, who was gunned down at the plate in the bottom of the second inning, got some redemption by breaking the game open.
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The tone was certainly set by Paul Skenes, who got his first Team USA start in the WBC and was lights out. He allowed just one hit and struck out seven hitters over four innings (60 pitches).
Skenes’ repertoire was electric as per usual, with sharp breaking sinkers and changeups to go along with a high-90 mph fastball. The former Air Force Academy pitcher has looked forward to this moment for a while, and he didn’t squander the opportunity to help his team.
After the five-run inning, the U.S. bats went a bit silent, which allowed Mexico a chance to gain momentum.
It was Anthony’s Red Sox teammate, Jarren Duran, who got El Tri on the board with a solo home run off Matthew Boys, the Chicago Cubs’ ace.
And that wouldn’t be Duran’s only big fly, as he was clearly seeing the ball well in Houston. After Joey Meneses’ infield single scored Jonathan Aranda later in the top of the sixth inning to make it a 5-2 game, Duran led off the top of the eighth inning with a 374-foot shot to right field off Boyd again.
Griffin Jax was called upon by manager Mark DeRosa to clean up the frame, and Garrett Whitlock shut the door in the ninth inning to secure the victory.
With a 3-0 record, the U.S. doesn’t have a do-or-die situation in their final pool play contest against Italy on Tuesday night. Of course, they would love to go undefeated and carry momentum into games that will resemble a Game 7 in the postseason each time moving forward.
Team USA and Italy will square off at Daikin Park on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET.
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