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Team USA suffered a major upset at the hands of Italy on Tuesday night in the World Baseball Classic, jeopardizing its hopes of advancing to the quarterfinal round.
Italy’s Kyle Teel, Sam Antonacci and Jac Caglianone homered as Italy defeated the United States, 8-6, in the Americans’ final game in pool play.
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American pitcher Brad Keller (40) walks to the dugout in the middle of the sixth inning of a World Baseball Classic game against Italy, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Italian starter Michael Lorenzen allowed two hits in 4.2 scoreless innings. The United States received home runs from Pete Crow-Armstrong twice and Gunnar Henderson, but their comeback fell short.
Aaron Judge had a chance to extend the game for the United States in the ninth inning, but struck out.
“It’s the hardest thing,” he said. “You always like to have your destiny in your own hands and we had it right in front of us and Italy came out on top.”
The Americans trailed 8-1 in the seventh inning before Crow-Armstrong’s home run.
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Italian catcher Kyle Teel (3) celebrates while running the bases after a home run against the United States in the World Baseball Classic game, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
The United States appeared to face a confusing situation, possibly thinking they had already secured a spot in the next round. Coach Mark DeRosa seemed to think that when he said in a television appearance that the team wanted to win the game “even though our ticket is sealed for the quarterfinals…”
DeRosa said he “was wrong” and Judge added that he didn’t believe the players had already thought their spot was secured.
“It’s out of our control now,” he said. “We just need a little luck and we’ll see what happens.”
Now, the United States will have to wait for an Italian victory over Mexico. If Mexico wins, the three teams will move to 3-1 and 1-1 against each other and will be sent to a tiebreaker.
American center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) celebrates after hitting a home run against Italy in the ninth inning of a World Baseball Classic game, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
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The tiebreaker is the number of runs allowed in games between tied teams. The United States could advance even if Mexico wins if it scores at least five runs.
