HOUSTON. – The Italian national team (baseball team) pulled off one of the biggest surprises of the tournament by defeating the United States (baseball team) 8-6 and taking the lead in Group B of the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
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The Italian team showed offensive power early on and managed to build a wide lead that withstood the reaction of the powerful American lineup in the final stretch of the match played in Houston.
Kyle Teel, Sam Antonacci, and Jac Caglianone’s home runs powered Italy’s offense, while starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen dominated the opposing lineup for 4.2 innings.
Teel and Antonacci hit home runs in the second inning to put the game at 3-0, while Caglianone extended the lead with a two-run homer in the fourth inning. Later, a three-run inning in the sixth allowed the Europeans to widen the gap to an unexpected 8-0.
The United States’ reaction came late. Gunnar Henderson opened the scoring for the Americans with a solo home run in the sixth inning and then Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a three-run homer in the seventh that brought the game closer to 8-4.
In the eighth inning, a simple Roman Anthony single reduced the deficit, while Crow-Armstrong again disappeared the ball in the ninth to make the score 8-6.
With two outs in the last inning, the tie reached the plate in the figure of the American captain Aaron Judge, but the Italian reliever Greg Weissert struck him out swinging to secure the victory.
With this result, Italy is in a privileged position to win Group B. If they defeat Mexico (baseball team) in their last group stage match, they will finish with a perfect 4-0 record and advance as leaders to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
