FINAL: Italy 9, Mexico 1
Team USA officially advances to the WBC quarterfinals and will face Canada on Friday. Italy, which carved through Pool B, will take on Puerto Rico on Saturday. Excellent baseball ahead in Houston before the semis and finals in Miami from March 15-17.
Vinnie Pasquantino has the first three-homer game in the 20-year history of the World Baseball Classic. Italy leads, 8-1, in the eighth inning and is six outs from sweeping Pool B and allowing Team USA to advance into the quarterfinals.
The bat flip!
Italy captain Vinnie Pasquantino now has two homers, and they lead 6-0. The Italians are on their way to finishing pool play 4-0, and if that holds, they would face Puerto Rico in the other quarterfinal in Houston on Saturday. USA-Canada would be Friday.
Aaron Nola is done, and he threw one of the best games of the WBC so far, shutting out Mexico through five innings. Italy leads, 5-0, and as long as the game does not go to the 13th inning, Team USA will survive and advance. If Italy wins, it's US-Canada in the quarterfinals.
The top five hitters in Italy's lineup went 0 for 22 -- and it still beat the United States. A monumental win for the Italians that leaves Team USA watching, waiting and hoping for an Italy win over Mexico or a high-scoring game that would let the U.S. advance on runs allowed.
FINAL: Italy 8, USA 6
One of the biggest upsets in WBC history as the Americans go down. Aaron Judge was up as the tying run with two outs in the ninth. Greg Weissert struck him out, and the Americans’ ability to advance now depends on the Italy-Mexico game Wednesday night.
Roman Anthony with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 8-5 with two outs and two on in the eighth inning.
Bryce Harper is pinch hitting and represents the tying run. Italy manager Francisco Cervelli is calling on Ron Marinaccio to face Harper.
Clayton Kershaw is loosening in the Team USA bullpen.
Some life for Team USA: Pete Crow-Armstrong with a three-run homer in the seventh inning to cut the deficit to 8-4. The lineup is turning over, too, with Bobby Witt Jr. up now with two outs and Gunnar Henderson, Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber set to follow.
Some life for Team USA: Pete Crow-Armstrong with a three-run homer in the seventh inning to cut the deficit to 8-4 in the seventh. The lineup is turning over, too, with Bobby Witt Jr. up now with two outs and Gunnar Henderson, Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber set to follow.
Italy is mauling Team USA. It's 8-0 in the top of the sixth, and because of tiebreaker rules that factor in runs allowed, the Americans have put themselves in a position where if Mexico beats Italy tomorrow, the U.S. could find itself out of the WBC before the knockout round.
White Sox catcher Kyle Teel is coming out of the game and limping off the field after hitting a double down the line for team Italy. Looks like he pulled something between first and second. Brutal. Teel's had a brilliant game for Italy, homering as they lead Team USA, 5-0.
It is the second inning and Italy is up 3-0 on Team USA after home runs from Kyle Teel and Sam Antonacci. Still early. Still plenty of ball to be played. But this Italy lineup is very strong top to bottom, and this is the most the Americans have trailed by so far in the WBC.
Big news out of Reds camp: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48163065/reports-reds-ace-hunter-greene-expected-july
FINAL: USA 5, Mexico 3
Team USA stays perfect in the WBC, scoring on Aaron Judge and Roman Anthony homers. Paul Skenes threw four brilliant innings, Bobby Witt Jr. was a menace offensively and defensively, and the U.S. can clinch a quarterfinal spot with a win Tuesday vs. Italy.
Roman Anthony is still just 21. He is going to have a monster season for the Red Sox. And he just hit the second home run of the inning for Team USA, a three-run tank that chased Jesús Cruz, staked the Americans a 5-0 lead and reminded everyone how deep and good this lineup is.
It's not often you see Aaron Judge, halfway down the first-base line on a home run trot, turn toward the dugout and yell at his teammates to hype them up. He is incredibly invested in the WBC -- and now Team USA leads Mexico, 2-0, after he took Jesús Cruz out opposite field.
Jesús Luzardo’s five-year extension is for $135 million, sources tell ESPN. The deal, negotiated by Roger Tomas and Brodie Van Wagenen of Roc Nation, puts Luzardo among the highest-paid left-handed pitchers in baseball and solidifies the Phillies’ rotation going forward.
BREAKING: Left-hander Jesús Luzardo and the Philadelphia Phillies are in agreement on a five-year contract extension, sources tell ESPN. Luzardo, 28, was set to become a free agent after this season. The new deal will begin in 2027 and locks up one of baseball’s best young arms.
Tarik Skubal will leave Team USA following tonight’s game and return to camp with the Detroit Tigers, manager Mark DeRosa said.
The baseball renaissance is real.
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This Dominican team is terrifying.
RHP Zack Littell and the Washington Nationals are in agreement on a contact, sources tell me and @JeffPassan.
Littell threw 186.2 innings last season with a 3.81 ERA for the Rays and Reds.
NEWS: John Carpino, Arte Moreno’s right-hand man, has informed the Angels that he will retire as the team’s president, ending a 23-year run with the organization, according to sources.
Molly Jolly, a longtime exec on the business side, will replace him April 6.
More to come.
Just your casual 453-foot homer leaving the bat at 116.
Who are the Top 100 players in MLB for the 2026 season? From Shohei Ohtani at the top to Nolan McLean at No. 100, here is ESPN's annual MLB Rank, where we project the stars of this year: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48053802/mlb-rank-2026-top-100-baseball-players-ohtani-judge-witt-skubal-soto
This is now official, with MLB announcing that Jurickson Profar tested positive for exogenous testosterone.
His 162-game suspension begins Friday. Profar can still appeal it. The last time a PED suspension was overturned via grievance was more than a decade ago.
