Rusty Weiss
Team USA fell to Italy 8-6 on Tuesday night—one of the most stunning upsets in the history of the World Baseball Classic—leaving the heavily favored Americans in danger of missing the quarterfinals for the first time in tournament history.
The result leaves their advancement hanging by a thread. They no longer control their own destiny. Moving on depends on the outcome of Wednesday’s Mexico-Italy matchup and complex tiebreaker scenarios involving runs scored, allowed, and other factors.
How did the American squad get into this mess?
Manager Mark DeRosa, who is also a regular MLB Network host, faced intense scrutiny afterward for comments he made earlier in the day during an appearance on the network’s “Hot Stove” show.
He appears to have strongly suggested he was under the impression his team had already clinched a spot in the next round. And that he intended to play some backup players based on that assertion.
“We want to win this game, even though our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals,” he incorrectly stated, saying of his bench players, “I’m going to get some guys off their feet, no question about it.”
Did DeRosa actually not realize that USA hadn’t clinched the next round?? pic.twitter.com/awvYBry1j2
— The Yankee Report (@YankeeReport_) March 11, 2026
Managerial Gaffe Leaves Team USA on Brink of Historic Elimination After Italy Shock
DeRosa didn’t simply misspeak (although he would later say that’s exactly what happened); his lineup clearly showed he was resting some of his top players. Cal Raleigh, Bryce Harper, Alex Bregman, Byron Buxton, and Brice Turang all began the game on the bench.
Italy raced out to a 5-0 lead in just four innings. They built the lead to 8-0 after 5.5 innings. As the game proceeded, DeRosa didn’t start managing as if he were losing his grip on a potential elimination game. There was no sense of urgency.
Despite a big rally, Team USA fell 8-6, with team captain Aaron Judge representing the tying run, but in typical fashion, striking out in just four pitches.
Post-game, DeRosa addressed the moment directly, telling reporters that he “misspoke” when stating that his team had already clinched.
“I was on Hot Stove with a couple of buddies today and completely misread the calculations,” DeRosa said. “We knew that Mexico was going to play Italy, and then running all the numbers, if we lost tonight with the runs allowed and runs scored and outs — so, I just misspoke.”
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DeRosa insisted the team went into the contest with Italy fully aware it needed a victory and denied any intentional lack of urgency, though he noted some players appeared to be “dragging” following celebrations after Monday’s win over Mexico.
Again, why were they celebrating hardcore if they hadn’t clinched yet? DeRosa is full of it. He thought his team was already moving on. He conveyed that to his team, who thought they were already moving on. And now they’re facing one of the most embarrassing blunders in the history of American baseball.
Team USA (currently 3-1 in Pool B) will advance to the quarterfinals if Italy defeats Mexico in their final pool game on Wednesday, as Italy would finish 4-0 to win the pool, and USA would take second place at 3-1 while Mexico drops to 2-2 and is eliminated.
If Mexico beats Italy (creating a three-way 3-1 tie among USA, Italy, and Mexico), USA advances only if Mexico scores at least five runs in that game (due to tiebreakers starting with head-to-head records being even, then favoring the team with the lowest runs allowed per defensive out in games among the three).
DeRosa better pray to the heavens that Italy takes care of business. But Italy might now be celebrating a bit themselves after their massive win.