USA 5, Mexico 3: How Team USA Fought Off a Late Comeback to Remain Undefeated in WBC

Team USA held on to stay perfect at the 2026 World Baseball Classic on Monday night.

The U.S. got an excellent start out of Paul Skenes and jumped to a 5-0 lead, but the team’s bats went quiet after the third inning and the team’s stacked bullpen struggled to keep Mexico off the board. It led to some nervous moments late.

Aaron Judge got the Americans on the board in the third inning with a two-run home run to right field. A few batters later, Roman Anthony did him one better, hammering a three-run blast off the facing of the upper deck in right center for a 5-0 lead.

Skenes went four shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out seven. Garrett Cleavinger had a clean inning in the fifth, but Matthew Boyd struggled in 2 1/3 innings. Boyd surrendered a solo home run to Jarren Duran in the top of the sixth, then later allowed a run to score on a infield single for Joey Meneses.

In the top of the eighth, Duran took Boyd deep again to cut the lead to 5-3.

Garrett Whitlock came in to close out the game for the U.S. in the top of the ninth and, after a leadoff single to Meneses, managed to shut Mexico down.

It was tighter than Team USA was hoping for, but the Americans are 3-0 and sit atop Pool B with one game remaining. They also beat Mexico at the World Baseball Classic for the first time since 2006.

Here are three things we learned.

Bobby Witt Jr. has to start every day

Witt might be Team USA’s best all-around player and it showed Monday night. He went 2-for-4 with two doubles and a walk, while also making two stellar defensive plays at shortstop.

Oh my! Bobby Witt does it again! 🇺🇸🔥 pic.twitter.com/D3diWRUZCH
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 10, 2026

Orioles star Gunnar Henderson started Game 2 at short for the U.S. and was excellent, as he went 4-for-5 with two RBIs. He’s fantastic, but Witt is on another level. He’s one of the best players in baseball and needs to be on the field for every inning of this tournament.

Paul Skenes has to start Team USA’s toughest remaining game

With Tarik Skubal opting to exit the WBC and return to the Tigers, Skenes has become far and away the U.S.’s best pitcher. He has to start the team’s biggest game moving forward.

Maybe manager Mark DeRosa will opt to put him in for the semifinal, but if he believes the championship game will be the more difficult task, Skenes has to be on the mound for that one.

The 23-year-old reigning NL Cy Young winner was brilliant against Mexico. In four innings he allowed no runs on one hit while striking out seven and walking one. He had 39 strikes in 60 pitches and looked like he was just getting warmed up when DeRosa took him out.

This won’t be as easy for the U.S. as we thought

The U.S. hammered Brazil and Great Britain, but in both games it took the Americans some time to get going before they piled on late. Against Mexico, they started well, then almost gave the game away. These games haven’t been a breeze, despite the team’s +20 run differential.

A quick glance around the tournament shows that a number of teams are currently rolling through it, while the U.S. has yet to fully hit its stride. While the Americans remain the favorites, teams like Japan and the Dominican Republic are certainly not far off.

The next week should be absolutely fascinating.

Team USA vs. Italy should be fun

The U.S. will wrap up Pool B play against Italy at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday night. The Italians will enter the game 2-0, featuring wins over Brazil and Great Britain, and with a +11 run differential.

Team USA will attempt to sweep group play behind Mets rookie righty Nolan McLean.

Catch up on Sports Illustrated’s live blog from the World Baseball Classic tilt:

More MLB on Sports Illustrated

This article was originally published on www.si.com as USA 5, Mexico 3: How Team USA Fought Off a Late Comeback to Remain Undefeated in WBC.

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