Final Score — Italy 8, USA 6
Three homers and an incredible pitching performance from Michael Lorenzen propel Italy (3-0) to victory over Team USA (3-1). Read below for the live recap of the game in Houston:
Pregame
Team USA's starting lineup features seven All-Stars, with Nolan McLean taking the bump for the stars and stripes.
- Bobby Witt Jr. - SS
- Gunnar Henderson - 3B
- Aaron Judge - RF
- Kyle Schwarber - DH
- Will Smith - C
- Roman Anthony - LF
- Paul Goldschmidt - 1B
- Ernie Clement - 2B
- Pete Crow-Armstrong - CF
- Nolan McLean - SP
Top 2nd — Italy 3, USA 0
Italy draws first blood with a two-out solo shot from Kyle Teel. The rally continues when McLean hits Jac Caglianone with a pitch to bring Sam Antonacci to the plate. Antonacci punishes a high fastball from McLean for a two-run homer, giving Italy an early lead.
Top 4th — Italy 5, USA 0
Ryan Yarbrough replaces McLean and gets off to a rocky start. He walks Kyle Teel to start the inning, and Jac Caglianone follows with Italy's third home run of the game. All three of Italy's hits have been round-trippers. Yarbrough retires the next three in order, but Italy leads by five.
Bottom 5th — Italy 5, USA 0
Michael Lorenzen continues to shut down the American offense. He strikes out Paul Goldschmidt to start the fifth and gets Ernie Clement to lineout. Italy heads to the bullpen with two outs, finishing Lorenzen's night. He leaves with zero runs and just two hits allowed. Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a towering shot over the rightfield foul pole, but it's ruled a foul ball and he strikes out to end the inning.
Top 6th — Italy 8, USA 0
The bottom of the Italian lineup continues to make Team USA pay. Kyle Teel reaches base for the third time tonight with a one-out double, and Jac Caglianone reaches for his third time with a walk. Sam Antonacci then reaches on a throwing error from pitcher Brad Keller and a run scores. After a sac fly RBI from Dante Nori, Italy gets their third run of the inning when Antonacci rushes home on a wild pitch from Keller. Italy now leads by eight.
Bottom 6th — Italy 8, USA 1
Gunnar Henderson finally gets Team USA on the scoreboard with a solo homer to right-center. The 414-foot bomb gives Henderson his fifth hit in just eight WBC at bats. Team USA trails by seven.
Bottom 7th — Italy 8, USA 4
After two outs to begin the inning, Paul Goldschmidt gets Team USA on the bases with a single through the left side. Manager Mark DeRosa puts Brice Turang in to pinch hit for the righty-lefty matchup, and the move pays off immediately. Turang smacks a double to rightfield and Goldschmidt races to third. With two on and two out, Pete Crow-Armstrong comes to the plate and launches a ball towards right. This time there is no doubt about whether it's fair, and the three-run bomb cuts the lead down to four.
Bottom 8th — Italy 8, USA 5
Another two-out rally ensues in the eighth when Kyle Schwarber and Will Smith record back-to-back singles. With the tying run on deck, Roman Anthony rips a clutch liner to left field to score Schwarber and put runners on the corners. DeRosa brings Bryce Harper in to pinch hit for Paul Goldschmidt. Harper runs the count full but flies out to left to end the inning. Team USA heads into the ninth down three.
Bottom 9th — Italy 8, USA 6
Pete Crow-Armstrong delivers yet again for Team USA. His second home run of the game is a solo bomb to right, and it pulls the stars and stripes within two runs.
Bobby Witt Jr. keeps the rally going with a base knock up the middle. After Gunnar Henderson records the second out of the inning, Aaron Judge enters the box as the tying run. Italy's Greg Weissert comes up with a huge punchout though, and the comeback officially ends. Team USA falls 8-6.
