Italy shocked the United States by winning 8-6 in a thrilling World Baseball Classic pool play finale at Daikin Park in Houston on March 11, 2026.
Italy took an 8-0 lead when Kyle Teel, Sam Antonacci, and Jac Caglianone all hit home runs. Caglianone’s two-run home run in the fourth inning off Ryan Yarbrough showed how much better they were, and they added more runs in the sixth inning thanks to errors, a sacrifice fly, and a wild pitch.
Pete Crow-Armstrong was the star of the game for the Americans. He hit two home runs, one a three-run shot in the seventh inning that made the score 8-1 and another to the second deck in right field in the ninth that made the score 8-6. Bobby Witt Jr. hit a single, but Gerrit Henderson and Aaron Judge struck out, ending the comeback and starting the celebrations in Italy.
The USA, which was 3-0 in pool play, now needs Italy to beat Mexico on March 12 to move on. If Mexico wins, all three teams will be 3-1, and the team that allows the most runs will be out. The US gave up eight runs, which hurt their chances of winning the tiebreaker.
Japan, the defending champions, went 4-0, beating the Czech Republic 9-0 at Tokyo Dome with a nine-run eighth inning capped by Munetaka Murakami’s grand slam. They will next face Venezuela or the Dominican Republic. After hitting.556, Shohei Ohtani took a break.
