Team USA Will Get Revenge And Rout Mexico

Mexico vs. USA, 9:00 ET

If you haven't been watching the World Baseball Classic, you're probably missing out. I won't try and lie to you by telling you that every game has been fantastic, because some of them have been pretty boring. However, the really good ones have been phenomenal. Before this year, there was never a walk-off home run in the history of the World Baseball Classic. There were two on the same day this weekend. Tonight we have a matchup between two teams that are the powerhouses of their pool, as Team Mexico takes on Team USA.

This probably comes as no surprise, but Team Mexico has a lot of talent. Given the player pool in the MLB and even Minor Leagues with Mexican decent, you can see why this team is great. I won't say they are elite at every position, which you could make an argument for with their opponent for today. However, they are deep, and have reliable players virtually everywhere. The problem is that their pitching is not nearly what the US can trot out there. Let's look at how the first two games went for Mexico, though, and get a feel for this team. Their opening game was against Great Britain, and they won it 8-2. While they never trailed in the game, it was tied after seven innings. Mexico broke it open later in the game against the British bullpen. The game against Brazil was a joke. They won the game in six innings, knocking four homers and scoring 16 unanswered runs. 16 runs on 16 hits compared to a shutout and three hits allowed for Brazil. 

Mar 8, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; Mexico catcher Alejandro Kirk (30) puts on a sombrero and celebrates with teammates after hitting a three-run home run against Brazil in the fourth inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

USA has looked as good as expected. If you haven't seen the team play, it is a bit hard to explain just how good they've been. You obviously expect them to have power, and that they are going to be reliable hitters. However, what has impressed me most is that they are working their at-bats better than I would've guessed. In the game against Brazil, the team collectively had 17 walks. They only struck out twice in the game as well. I was watching the game, and although there was little pressure as they had a big lead, it was nice to see the team taking walks instead of trying to force a hit. They just kept moving the line in the ninth inning of the game. They did allow five runs to Brazil, but they were fairly meaningless. It took a bit more time for the team to wake up against Great Britain when they played on Saturday. They were trailing into the fifth until Kyle Schwarber blasted a ball over the fence. They scored nine unanswered runs and moved on. 

We have two of the best offenses in the World Baseball Classic taking place today. However, I fully expect one to be neutralized significantly more than the other. Team Mexico beat USA in the last World Baseball Classic, but that was still in pool play, and I expect the stars and stripes to remember that game. Today they face Manny Barreda who is not on a Major League roster. As far as I can tell, he has pitched a total of 1.1 innings in the MLB and his last appearance was in 2018. That doesn't mean he is void of skill or anything. However, the US is trotting out Paul Skenes to the mound. Skenes is one of the best five pitchers in baseball, and he probably isn't third, fourth, or fifth. Give me the USA to cover the -3.5 in this one. 

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