Final Score — USA 9, Great Britain 1
Team USA earned its second victory in the WBC with a dominant performance against Great Britain. Read below for the live recap of the game in Houston:
Pregame
Team USA's starting lineup features eight All-Stars, with reigning back-to-back Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal taking the bump for the stars and stripes.
- Kyle Schwarber - DH
- Alex Bregman - 3B
- Aaron Judge - RF
- Bryce Harper - 1B
- Will Smith - C
- Gunnar Henderson - SS
- Roman Anthony - LF
- Ernie Clement - 2B
- Pete Crow-Armstrong - CF
- Tarik Skubal - SP
Top 1st - Great Britain 1, USA 0
The British get off to a fast start, as Nate Eaton smacks a homer on the first pitch of the game. Tarik Skubal retires the next three in order to limit the damage.
Top 3rd - Great Britain 1, USA 0
Skubal strikes out three batters in his last inning on the bump for Team USA. After allowing the first pitch homer, Skubal downed nine of the next 10 Great Britain hitters to end his outing. He finishes with five punchouts.
Bottom 5th - USA 5, Great Britain 1
Ernie Clement provides a spark for Team USA when he legs out a grounder to third base to put the tying run on. Pete Crow-Armstrong follows with a double down the first base line that pushes Clement to third, where he soon dashes home on a passed ball to even the score. With Crow-Armstrong on second and the Houston crowd providing momentum, Kyle Schwarber blasts a 427-foot no-doubter to right field to give Team USA a two-run lead.
The fifth inning pile-on continues when Alex Bregman ropes a double to left, followed by a Bryce Harper hit-by-pitch and a Will Smith walk. With the bases loaded, Gunnar Henderson grinds his way through an eight-pitch at bat before breaking the game open with a two-run double.
Bottom 6th - USA 8, Great Britain 1
Clement kicks things off once again for the U.S. with a leadoff single. Walks from Crow-Armstrong and Schwarber follow, before Alex Bregman induces a sac fly to score Clement. With runners at the corners, Aaron Judge rifles a 109.5 mph RBI single off the left field wall to push the Team USA lead to 7-1.
Smith drives in another run with a sac fly that scores Schwarber. Henderson records his third hit of the game to load the bases and threaten once again, but Great Britain escapes without further bleeding. Team USA leads by seven.
Bottom 7th - USA 9, Great Britain 1
Clement reaches base yet again to start off the inning. Schwarber records his second hit of the ballgame to put runners on the corners, and Bregman takes advantage with his second sac fly of the night to extend Team USA's lead to eight.
Top 9th - USA 9, Great Britain 1
Brad Keller retires the side to finish off Great Britain. Team USA pitchers finish the evening with one earned run, three hits allowed, and 17 strikeouts. The 17 strikeouts mark a Team USA World Baseball Classic record.
