| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Mexico | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 15 | 0 |
| USA | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Trailing 11-2 heading in the bottom of the eighth inning, Team USA attempted to rally but ultimately fell short in an 11-5 loss to Mexico in front of a lively sold-out crowd on Sunday night at Chase Field. The U.S. fell to 1-1 in Pool C with the loss and currently sits in a three-way tie for second place with Canada and Mexico.
Mexico took a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning courtesy of a two-run homer. The stars and stripes responded in the bottom of the second thanks to a one-out triple from Kyle Tucker and an RBI-single by Tim Anderson, but Mexico would get that run back in the top of the third with a pair of infield singles and a blooper to right.
Mexico tacked on another four runs with two outs in the top of the fourth inning against reliever Brady Singer to take a commanding 7-1 lead. Will Smith hit a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh to cut into the deficit, but Mexico added four more runs in the top half of the eighth to extend its lead to 11-2.
The red, white, and blue attempted to rally in the bottom of the eighth, sending eight batters to the plate and scoring three runs. Bobby Witt Jr. drove in the first run of the inning with a pinch-hit RBI-double to right-center before Anderson picked up his second run-scoring hit of the night, smacking a two-run double down the left field line to plate two more runs to bring the score to 11-5. Jeff McNeil led off the bottom of the ninth with a single to left field but that would be all the stars and stripes could muster in the final frame.
Starting pitcher Nick Martinez (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing three earned runs in 2.2 innings. Aaron Loup, Adam Ottavino, and Ryan Pressly all turned in scoreless innings of relief for the U.S., which used eight total pitchers in the defeat. Singer and Bard both surrendered four runs in their relief appearances.
Anderson paced the U.S. offense on the night, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while Mike Trout (1-for-2) reached base three times, singling and drawing a pair of walks. Half of the U.S. hits were for extra bases on Sunday, with doubles from Anderson and Witt Jr. (1-for-1, RBI), a triple from Tucker (1-for-3), and Smith’s (1-for-4, RBI) home run.
Team USA continues pool play against Canada (1-0) on Monday night at Chase Field. The game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports 1, with first pitch set for 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. MT.
