Team USA advanced to the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals despite a surprising loss to Italy, prompting manager Mark DeRosa to describe the defeat as a vital lesson. DeRosa acknowledged his pre-game comments about the team's advancement were overly confident. The team now prepares to face Canada on Friday.
In the World Baseball Classic, Team USA suffered an unexpected loss to Italy on Tuesday, which manager Mark DeRosa later characterized as a "huge wake-up call." Before the game, DeRosa appeared on MLB Network's "Hot Stove" and stated, "We want to win this game, even though our ticket's punched to the quarterfinals." He intended to rest some players, believing advancement was secure.
Following the defeat, DeRosa admitted he "misspoke" and had "completely misread the calculations." On Thursday, he elaborated that his remarks stemmed from being "overly confident" after beating Mexico, adding, "Yeah, it's just an overly confident statement on 'Hot Stove.' Period, the end. And it's my fault. I felt good about where we were after [beating] Mexico."
DeRosa emphasized that the team remained focused on winning against Italy, who entered the matchup 2-0 while USA was 3-0. He noted the complexities of tiebreaker rules and pitching restrictions, saying, "We were up against a lot of guardrails with regards to teams, the deployment of certain relievers, how many pitches they can use."
Italy's subsequent victory over Mexico on Wednesday allowed USA to advance from pool play. DeRosa praised Italy, tipping his hat to player Vinnie Pasquantino, and viewed the loss positively: "New lease on life for the boys, certainly... Went into that game a little overly confident and got a huge wake-up call. And we turned the page and go to Canada."
USA faces Canada in the quarterfinals on Friday night at Daikin Park in Houston, with Logan Webb starting against Mike Soroka. Canada advanced by defeating Cuba in a double-elimination game on Thursday. If USA progresses, Paul Skenes would start in the semifinals.
