I know I sound like a broken record – ask your grandparents – but anything can happen in a one-off game.
And on Tuesday night in Houston, it did.
Italy – a team largely built from American players with Italian heritage and fuelled by dugout espressos – stunned “The Greatest Team Ever Assembled” 8–6 in one of the biggest upsets in the 20-year history of the tournament.
The loss didn’t just dent American pride. It left the pre-tournament favourites in a position nobody expected…their destiny no longer in their own hands.
A low-scoring win for Mexico in the final pool game against Italy (11:00pm GMT Wednesday), will send Italy and Mexico into the quarter-finals and eliminate the USA.
It brings back memories of the Braves and Mets splitting that infamous 2024 double-header to shaft the Diamondbacks. And – showing my age – echoes of football’s Disgrace of Gijón in 1982.
Earlier in the day, USA manager Mark DeRosa was under the incorrect impression that the USA had already reached the knockout stage.
Speaking on MLB Network’s Hot Stove, DeRosa casually remarked that the team wanted to beat Italy “even though our ticket’s punched to the quarter-finals.”
It wasn’t.
By the end of the night, that inaccuracy looked painfully ironic.
DeRo, quite rightly, received a lot of heat for the comment, but neither he, the whole of his backroom staff, nor the MLB Network guys who simply nodded along in agreement, came out well.
The reality is simple. The United States no longer control their own destiny.
For a roster loaded with MVPs, Cy Young winners and All-Stars, that’s not where anyone expected them to be.
The reasons are not simple; they never are.
Sure, Bryce Harper devalued the competition with his Olympics comments, and yes, there is a degree of American arrogance that they only have to turn up and the trophy is theirs, but the level of play by the other 19 nations – none of whom would have thought their QF berth was safe until it was – has been sensational.
Last night, Italy came out swinging.
The game actually started perfectly for Team USA. Rookie pitcher Nolan McLean struck out the first three Italian hitters and looked completely in control.
Then the wheels came off.
White Sox catcher Kyle Teel dumped a home run into the Crawford Boxes to give Italy a 1–0 lead. It was only a blip… or was it? Moments later, White Sox prospect Sam Antonacci launched a towering two-run shot that suddenly had the Americans staring at a deficit.
Plucky underdogs indeed.
Two innings later, it got worse.
Teel walked, and Kansas City outfielder Jac Caglianone stepped to the plate and launched a home run to right field, punctuating it with a spectacular bat flip that will be replayed on Italian sports television for the next decade.
Just like that, Italy led 5–0.
If the American dugout thought things might settle down, Michael Lorenzen had other ideas.
The 34-year-old veteran wasn’t even meant to pitch in this game. Italy had originally planned to save him for a crucial matchup against Mexico. But when his MLB club, the Colorado Rockies, didn’t want to disrupt his rotation plans, Lorenzen took the ball against the USA.
Side note: The Rockies have imposed strict pitching restrictions on Italy and Colombia. Apparently, Colorado is taking the 2026 season seriously. We’ll see.
Anyway, Lorenzen was magnificent.
Mixing pitches and working quickly, Lorenzen shut down a terrifying USA lineup featuring Aaron Judge, Kyle Schwarber, Bobby Witt Jr., and Gunnar Henderson, tossing 4⅔ scoreless innings while the Italians piled on more runs.
By the time the Americans finally got on the board – Henderson homering in the sixth – Italy had already stretched the lead to 8–0.
At that point, the inevitable comeback attempt felt, well… inevitable. But also, for the first time in the game, you actually thought, “You know, maybe Italy can hang on.”
To their credit, Team USA didn’t fold.
Pete Crow-Armstrong launched a three-run homer in the seventh. Roman Anthony added an RBI single in the eighth.
U-S-A! U-S-A!” boomed from the increasingly desperate voices inside Daikin Park
With two-on in the eighth inning, Bryce Harper – pinch hitter as the USA had opted for Paul Goldschmidt at first – had the opportunity to tie the game with one swing. He worked a full count, but Padres’ reliever Ron Marinaccio got him to fly out.
In the ninth, PCA connected with his second homer of the day to close the gap to two runs.
Boston reliever Greg Weissert walked Bobby Witt Jr. to increase the tension in the stadium before striking out Henderson.
This was the climax. This was the Hollywood script. Captain America, Aaron Judge, with the opportunity to tie the game.
Judge had faced Weissert twice last season – a single and a double. On this, the most crucial of plate appearances – Judge struck out swinging.
Italy won 8-6. Simply amazing.
Italy manager Francisco Cervelli could barely contain his emotions afterwards.
“This is one of the best days of my life,” the former Yankees catcher said. “I’m proud of my guys. They’re young, but they play like they’ve been in the big leagues for 10 years.”
The result becomes even more remarkable when you consider that the top five hitters in Italy’s lineup went 0-for-22.
And yet they still beat a team loaded with baseball royalty.
That’s the magic of the World Baseball Classic.
For the United States, the night ended not with celebration but uncertainty. They now need a little help from their friends.
For Italy – now without Kyle Teel, who left the game with a tournament-ending injury – they know that a win against Mexico will secure passage to the quarter-final with an unbeaten 4-0 record.
If the WBC has taught us anything, it’s this: No matter how stacked your roster looks on paper, nothing is guaranteed once the first pitch is thrown.
Featured image of Jac Caglianone downing a shot of espresso by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images.
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