Aaron Judge, Roman Anthony Carry Team USA Past Mexico, 5-3 In World Baseball Classic
Home runs by Aaron Judge and Roman Anthony in the third inning were all Team USA needed to hang on to a 5-3 victory over Mexico, its biggest competition in Pool B. With the win, the U.S. has taken sole possession of first place in Pool B and is in the driver’s seat to advance to the knockout stages as the winner of the pool.
Starting Pitcher Paul Skenes was another bright spot for the U.S., going four innings without allowing a run in what was easily the team’s most dominant starting pitching performance so far. Matthew Boyd (2 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER), conversely, was the biggest disappointment as he allowed two dingers to Jarren Duran to bring the game within striking distance.
However, Griffin Jax and Garrett Whitlock came on to quell the comeback and allow Team USA to improve to 3-0 in the World Baseball Classic. The win over Mexico was also the USA’s first in the WBC since 2006. In all, the U.S. is 2-3 against its rival in five meetings at the WBC.
Third Inning Proves the Difference For Team USA
The Red, White, and Blue was inconsistent offensively as it was only able to muster a 1-of-11 effort with runners in scoring position and failed to push across runs in any other inning. However, nine innings are played in a regulation game of baseball, and sometimes all a team needs is one of them to score enough to win.
The third inning began with Bryce Harper hitting a line-drive single that was deflected off of Mexico Pitcher Jesus Cruz, who needed an injury delay before facing the next batter. Unfortunately for Cruz, the next batter up was Judge.
The New York Yankee captain stepped to the plate and, on a 2-1 count, delivered a two-run home run to the opposite field to bring the score to 2-0 in favor of Team USA. In three games in the WBC, Judge leads the team in home runs (2) and is batting .333.
After Kyle Schwarber’s single to right field and Cal Raleigh being hit by a 93-mph fastball, the youngster Anthony crushed a hanging slider to right center field to give the Americans an early 5-0 lead. The Boston prodigy leads Team USA with 5 RBI and sports a .364 batting average in the classic.
Skenes Looks In Midseason Form, Not So Much For Boyd
The Pittsburgh Pirate was dynamite against the Mexican bats, and it all started in the first inning. Skenes struck out Duran with a 90-mph changeup that was foul-tipped, induced a groundout from Randy Arozarena with a 99-mph fastball, and ended the side by forcing Jonathan Aranda to fly out with a 97-mph sinker.
It was a showcase of the many ways in which Skenes can put away opposing batters. The second was no different as he had another 1-2-3 inning, which included back-to-back strikeouts against both Alejandro Kirk and Rowdy Tellez with blistering fastballs.
The third inning proved to be the toughest to navigate. While Skenes fanned Nick Gonzales and Alek Thomas to start, he was hampered by Second Baseman Brice Turang’s throwing error to allow the number nine batter, Joey Ortiz, to reach first.
Duran followed with a single to right field, and Ortiz attempted to go from first to third, but he erroneously challenged Judge’s right arm and was gunned down to end the threat. Skenes’ outing ended after the fourth inning, where he again struck out Arozarena and Tellez to collect his sixth and seventh strikeouts of the night.
Team USA had to figure it was going to cruise to a shutout, but Boyd forced the squad to change plans. The Chicago Cub came on in the sixth inning and allowed Duran (3-4, 2 RBI) to blast a line drive solo shot with one out to pull Mexico within four runs.
After back-to-back singles, Joey Meneses came on to pinch hit for Tellez with two outs. Meneses proceeded to hit a groundball that hit off the glove of shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to make the score 5-2. Boyd forced a lineout out of Nacho Alvarez Jr. to stop the damage.
While Boyd had a clean seventh, he would allow Mexico to tack on another run in the eighth for a 5-3 score, thanks to Duran’s second home run of the night, and his third of the WBC. Boyd’s night ended after hitting Arozarena with a fastball and striking out Aranda.
Last Word
Jax and Whitlock came to the rescue for the U.S. and quieted Mexico for the final 1.2 innings to seal the victory. Team USA finishes pool play against Italy tonight on FS1.
