In a thrilling upset at the World Baseball Classic (WBC), Italy stunned the United States with an 8-6 victory on Tuesday night at Houston’s Daikin Park, dramatically shaking up the quarter-final race in their group. The win puts Italy in a strong position to advance, while the United States now faces uncertainty, relying on Italy to beat Mexico in their upcoming match to secure a guaranteed spot in the quarter-finals.
Italy’s offense was powered by home runs from Kyle Teel, Sam Antonacci, and Jac Caglianone, who helped build a commanding early lead that the team never relinquished. The United States mounted a late rally, sparked by Pete Crow-Armstrong’s two home runs and four RBIs, but ultimately fell short after Greg Weissert struck out Aaron Judge with a runner on base to seal the victory for Italy.
The result complicates the standings in the pool. The U.S. has completed its group play with a 3-1 record but now needs Italy to defeat Mexico to guarantee advancement. If Mexico beats Italy, all three teams—USA, Italy, and Mexico—would finish 3-1, and the quarter-finalists would be determined by a run differential tiebreaker. Currently, the United States has allowed 17 runs in four games, Italy 10, and Mexico only seven, adding further pressure on the American side.
In a pre-game interview, USA manager Mark DeRosa mistakenly suggested that the U.S. had already secured a quarter-final spot, a statement he later corrected. “I misspoke,” DeRosa admitted after the game. “I completely misread the calculations. We knew Mexico was going to play Italy, and after running all the numbers, if we lost tonight, with runs allowed and scored and outs, I just misspoke.”
Italy’s pitching played a crucial role in the upset. Starter Michael Lorenzen delivered an impressive performance, allowing only two hits over four and two-thirds scoreless innings, effectively keeping the American hitters off balance. Italy’s offense got off to a fast start, with Teel’s home run in the third inning providing an early lead. After a hit-by-pitch to Caglianone, Antonacci followed with a homer to extend the lead to 3-0. Caglianone then blasted a two-run homer in the fourth, pushing the lead to 5-0.
The Italians continued to capitalize on U.S. mistakes: a combination of an error, a sacrifice fly, and a wild pitch in the sixth inning allowed Italy to stretch their advantage to 8-0. The U.S. finally got on the board with a solo homer by Gunnar Henderson in the sixth inning, but it wasn’t enough. Crow-Armstrong’s majestic three-run homer in the seventh brought the Americans closer, trimming the deficit to 8-4, and his second homer in the ninth cut it further to 8-6. However, the rally was halted by Weissert’s crucial strikeout of Aaron Judge, sparking celebrations from the Italian side.
Meanwhile, defending champions Japan completed their group stage undefeated with a dominant 9-0 win over the Czech Republic at the Tokyo Dome. Japan’s offense exploded for nine runs in the eighth inning, highlighted by a grand slam from Munetaka Murakami. Japan’s pitching and defense were equally impressive, allowing just five hits throughout the game.
Japan finished the group with an unblemished 4-0 record, outscoring opponents 39-9, and will advance to face either Venezuela or the Dominican Republic in the quarter-finals set for Saturday in Miami. Notably, Japan rested star Shohei Ohtani, who had been outstanding with a .556 batting average, two home runs, six RBIs, and four walks during the tournament.
The Czech Republic, despite their efforts, ended the group stage winless at 0-4 and were heavily outmatched, being outscored 39-5 and posting a batting average of just .167, ranking 19th out of the 20 teams. Czech starter Ondrej Satoria, known for his memorable strikeout of Ohtani in the 2023 WBC, pitched admirably, allowing six hits over nearly five innings, but the offense could not support him.
A notable moment in the game came in the eighth inning when Kenya Wakatsuki’s go-ahead double off Czech reliever Michal Kovala