Italy 8, United States 6
HOUSTON (Mar. 10) — Italy stunned the United States Tuesday night, racing to an 8–0 lead and surviving a furious late rally to take control of Pool B of the World Baseball Classic.
The win is one of the biggest in the history of Italian baseball. “This is one of the best days of my life,” Italy manager Francisco Cervelli said. Cervelli went deeper on what it meant: “It means everything… I had to convince people that we can play baseball, that we can do special things in Italy,” he said. “They’re going to start believing more.”
It puts Italy in prime position to reach the quarterfinals, since the top two finishers from each group advance. They enter the final and pivotal Pool B game leading the group at 3–0, facing 2–1 Mexico.
For the United States, the loss drops them to 3–1 and relegates them to scoreboard watching. They hope to avoid a dreaded three-way tie in the standings and the messy tiebreakers that would follow.
Italy – United States Game Summary
Kyle Teel put Italy on the board in the top of the second with a solo homer to the Crawford Boxes in left. Two batters later and with one on, Sam Antonacci blasted a deep fly to the bullpen in right-center, silencing the stunned crowd as the Italian lead became 3–0. Another two-run homer in the top of the fourth, this time to right field by Jac Caglianone, made the score 5–0.
The United States played sloppy baseball in the sixth. With runners on first and second and one out, Antonacci hit a comebacker to Brad Keller. Keller wheeled around and fired to second, but the throw sailed into center field. J.J. D’Orazio — running for Teel, who led off with a double but left with hamstring trouble — scored as Caglianone reached third. Antonacci dove into second, but there was no tag play as the throw from center sailed past the bag and back into the infield. The snowball fight wasn’t the end of the sloppiness, however, as after a sacrifice fly made the score 7–0 and advanced Antonacci to third, Keller uncorked a wild pitch. Antonacci scored. With the score 8–0 heading into the bottom of the sixth, Italy was two unanswered runs away from a run-rule win.
A Furious Rally
Gunnar Henderson broke the shutout with a solo homer to center in the bottom of the sixth. One inning later, Pete Crow-Armstrong clobbered a towering three-run homer into the upper deck in right. A two-out eighth-inning RBI single to right by Roman Anthony made the score 8–5. The United States threatened to tie the game later that inning, having runners on the corners with two outs. Bryce Harper pinch-hit as the tying run, but a harmless fly to left-center maintained the three-run Italian lead.
The Bottom of the Ninth
Crow-Armstrong brought the United States to within 8–6 with a one-out solo shot in the bottom of the ninth. That chased Ron Marinaccio from the game and brought in Greg Weissert to close. Bobby Witt Jr. singled up the middle to bring the tying run to the plate. But Gunnar Henderson and the ever-dangerous Aaron Judge both fanned, giving Gli Azzurri one of the biggest victories in the history of Italian baseball.
What Went Right for Italy
Starting Pitching
Michael Lorenzen faced 17 United States batters and retired 14. In 4 2/3 scoreless innings, he allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out two.
“I had the three different fastballs working,” Lorenzen said postgame. “So just having to pick which one I was going to throw was helpful. The arm-side sinker was working. I was getting it strike-to-ball, where it was starting out like it was in the zone and then it was kind of late moving in (on their hands). And I got a lot of outs on that.”
Early Offensive Barrage
Italy took a 3–0 lead in the second. Two more runs in the fourth made it 5–0. The three-run sixth made it 8–0. Even for a juggernaut like the United States, an 8–0 deficit is tough to erase across four offensive innings.
Closing Pitching
Greg Weissert, despite allowing a baserunner, slammed the door after the United States closed the gap to two. It did not matter that the tying run was at the plate. He struck out Gunnar Henderson and Aaron Judge — two familiar AL East foes, Henderson being an Oriole, Judge a Yankee, and Weissert a Red Sox — to end the game.
What Went Wrong for Italy
Middle Relief
Italy relievers Dan Altavilla, Joe La Sorsa, and Alek Jacob yielded four runs combined, doing so in the sixth and seventh. This let the United States back in the game.
The Setup Men
Matt Festa and Ron Marinaccio both coughed up runs, doing so in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.
What Went Right for the United States
Shut Down the Top Five in the Italian Batting Order
The top five in Italy’s batting order — Jakob Marsee, Jon Berti, Vinnie Pasquantino, Dominic Canzone, and Zach Dezenzo — went 0-for-22.
Mounted a Furious Comeback
The United States scored six runs in the final four innings to take a near mercy-rule situation and make it competitive again.
Late-Inning Relief
Gabe Speier, David Bednar, and Mason Miller — three of the top relievers in the majors — held Italy scoreless over the final three innings. That did not come without incident, however. Bednar allowed two singles and a hit batsman to load the bases with one out. But a strikeout and groundout got him out of the self-imposed jam. Speier and Miller, however, each retired the side in order.
What Went Wrong for the United States
Starting Pitching
Across three innings, Nolan McLean allowed three runs on two hits, two walks, and two home runs with four strikeouts.
6-7-8 Hitters in Opposing Lineup
The sixth, seventh, and eighth hitters in Italy’s batting order went 6-for-8 with a double, three homers, and six RBI. These were Kyle Teel, J.J. D’Orazio, Jack Caglianone, and Sam Antonacci.
Sloppy Sixth Inning
Reliever Brad Keller was his own worst enemy in the sixth, when Italy scored three. The “snowball fight” sequence with two errant throws — one by Keller — brought the game to the brink of being a laugher. His wild pitch to plate the eighth Italian run added to the frustration.
Injury Report
Team Italy later said Teel left the game with “hamstring discomfort.” Afterwards, manager Francisco Cervelli said Teel will miss the Mexico game. Like every team in the tournament, Italy carries only two catchers, which puts them in a bind. Their only other option at catcher currently is bullpen catcher Andrés Annunziata.
This comes from logistics — given that Italy’s next game is Wednesday night at 6, there simply is not enough time to bring anyone else in. Bringing someone in from spring training has all kinds of necessary paperwork that would prevent it. Furthermore, direct flights from Rome to Houston take 12 hours. Given all the other travel necessities to bring someone over from Italy — paperwork, customs, and such — that option is also not possible. (Author’s Note: This is assuming the team charters a plane. There are no direct commercial flights from Rome to Houston currently running. The ITA Airways non-stop service between the two will not begin until May 1.)
Quotes
“I threw more curveballs than I expected to throw. So within the game, me and Teel were working together really well. But I knew I had to be in the zone or around the zone. I had to earn their respect that, ‘Hey, I’m not just going to nibble, I’m going to come at you.’ And I felt that would lead to a little more chase. But if I start to nibble early, I have no chance.
“Against a lineup like that, that’s something you’ve got to weigh. How much of the zone do I live in? You’ve got a guy like Kyle Schwarber, who doesn’t swing at anything other than pitches that are in the zone, which is insane to me.
“So you’re battling this mental battle constantly — last night, this morning, trying to just figure out as I’m warming up in the pen what pitches am I going to lean on most.” — Italy starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen, giving further detail on how he attacked the United States lineup
Looking Ahead
Lorenzen earned the win for Italy as McLean took the loss for the United States. Weissert notched the save.
Italy leads Pool B going into the final game of the group. They will face Mexico Wednesday in a game that will determine both of Pool B’s entries into the quarterfinals. First pitch will be at 6 pm Central.
An Italy win over Mexico means Italy wins the group and the United States will come in second. However, a Mexico win will throw the group into chaos. It will cause a three-way tie among the three, and the tiebreaker will involve the lowest quotient of total runs allowed divided by defensive outs recorded. The two lowest will go through to the quarters; the highest will go home.
If Mexico wins and scores six or more runs, Mexico will win the group and the United States will finish second. If Mexico wins and Italy scores six or more runs, Italy will win the group and the United States will finish second. If Mexico wins with a low score, Mexico and Italy would both go through to the quarterfinals and the United States would be eliminated. Of course, these scenarios are assuming a nine-inning game.
Baseball is so fun.
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