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3Bplay · 02-01-2026, 01:15 PM

U.S. DROPS FIRST GAME OF POOL PLAY
Skenes suffers through rare bad outing

By MLB.com staff
03/07/2026

In perhaps the most anticipated matchup of pool play in the competition's first day, the U.S. squad suffered a mild upset at the hands of the Mexican national team by a 7-5 score. The game was tied at five heading into the bottom of the eighth, but back-to-back RBI singles by Jared Serna (Marlins) and Alejandro Osuna (Rangers) off the Mets' Devin Williams put them up for good, as Seattle closer Andres Munoz worked around a one-out walk in the ninth to secure the victory.

Issac Paredes put the Mexico squad up 1-0 with a two-out RBI double off American starter Paul Skenes of the Pirates, who admitted after the game that his adrenaline was "off the charts" at the first pitch. Skenes struggled in his WBC debut, allowing five earned runs before leaving with two outs in the fourth to be replaced by Seattle's Bryan Woo, who righted the ship with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball.

"This is baseball at it's best," U.S. manager Mark DeRosa said after the loss. "Sure, it didn't turn out the way we wanted it to, but these are two really, really good teams. Hats off to them, they played a heck of a game."

The U.S. team tied the game in the third with three straight singles, although Pete Crow-Armstrong was thrown out trying to steal; then taking the lead briefly in the fourth as the Dodgers' Will Smith led off that frame with a solo homerun. Riley Greene (Tigers) would later score the Phillies' Bryce Harper from second on a single to increase the lead to two, 3-1, but the fourth inning was the trouble spot for Skenes as the Mexico squad plated four runs in the fourth.

Despite adding two in the sixth to tie the game on RBI doubles from Brendan Donovan (Royals) and the Yankees' Aaron Judge, the Americans never led again as they were held scoreless the rest of the way out. With Italy and Great Britain still to come for the U.S. team, it should not prevent them from reaching the tournament, but it's still a setback all the same.

"We'll just re-group and come back to get ready for Great Britain," DeRosa said, a bit despondent. "We've put ourselves in a position where we can't overlook anyone from here on out."

02-01-2026, 01:15 PM	#52
3Bplay Major Leagues Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 390	WBC News (03/07) U.S. DROPS FIRST GAME OF POOL PLAY Skenes suffers through rare bad outing By MLB.com staff 03/07/2026 In perhaps the most anticipated matchup of pool play in the competition's first day, the U.S. squad suffered a mild upset at the hands of the Mexican national team by a 7-5 score. The game was tied at five heading into the bottom of the eighth, but back-to-back RBI singles by Jared Serna (Marlins) and Alejandro Osuna (Rangers) off the Mets' Devin Williams put them up for good, as Seattle closer Andres Munoz worked around a one-out walk in the ninth to secure the victory. Issac Paredes put the Mexico squad up 1-0 with a two-out RBI double off American starter Paul Skenes of the Pirates, who admitted after the game that his adrenaline was "off the charts" at the first pitch. Skenes struggled in his WBC debut, allowing five earned runs before leaving with two outs in the fourth to be replaced by Seattle's Bryan Woo, who righted the ship with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball. "This is baseball at it's best," U.S. manager Mark DeRosa said after the loss. "Sure, it didn't turn out the way we wanted it to, but these are two really, really good teams. Hats off to them, they played a heck of a game." The U.S. team tied the game in the third with three straight singles, although Pete Crow-Armstrong was thrown out trying to steal; then taking the lead briefly in the fourth as the Dodgers' Will Smith led off that frame with a solo homerun. Riley Greene (Tigers) would later score the Phillies' Bryce Harper from second on a single to increase the lead to two, 3-1, but the fourth inning was the trouble spot for Skenes as the Mexico squad plated four runs in the fourth. Despite adding two in the sixth to tie the game on RBI doubles from Brendan Donovan (Royals) and the Yankees' Aaron Judge, the Americans never led again as they were held scoreless the rest of the way out. With Italy and Great Britain still to come for the U.S. team, it should not prevent them from reaching the tournament, but it's still a setback all the same. "We'll just re-group and come back to get ready for Great Britain," DeRosa said, a bit despondent. "We've put ourselves in a position where we can't overlook anyone from here on out." Last edited by 3Bplay; 02-01-2026 at 10:44 PM.