Italy Hands Team USA 8-6 Defeat, Leaving Americans in Quarterfinal Limbo

Italy rocked a lineup full of All-Stars and knocked Team USA into a precarious position in Pool B, winning 8-6 at Daikin Park in Houston on Tuesday night to improve to 3-0 in the tournament while dropping the Americans to 3-1.

The United States is finished with pool play and now faces an uncomfortable wait. A win by Italy over Mexico on Wednesday guarantees the U.S. a quarterfinal berth. If Mexico wins, all three teams sit at 3-1 and advancement gets decided by runs allowed per defensive out among the tied clubs, a calculation that could eliminate the Americans without them taking another swing.

Italy made that math necessary by building a lead that looked insurmountable through five innings. Kyle Teel opened the scoring with a solo home run to the Crawford Boxes in left field, and two batters later Sam Antonacci followed with a two-run shot to right-center off U.S. starter Nolan McLean, pushing Italy ahead 3-0. McLean, a 24-year-old with eight major league starts to his name, had struck out the side in the first, retiring Jakob Marsee, Jon Berti and Vinnie Pasquantino in order, but the second inning unraveled his night. He finished with three runs allowed in three innings.

Jac Caglianone extended the damage in the fourth, connecting on a two-run homer off Ryan Yarbrough to make it 5-0. Italy then piled on in the sixth through three different mechanisms: an error, a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch by Brad Keller that pushed the lead to 8-0. Through all of it, Italy starter Michael Lorenzen allowed just two hits in 4-and-two-thirds scoreless innings, keeping the American lineup entirely off balance through the middle frames.

Gunnar Henderson finally got the U.S. on the board with a solo homer in the sixth, but the rally that mattered came later. With two outs in the seventh and the score sitting at 8-1, Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a majestic three-run homer to right field, breathing life into a team that appeared finished. The U.S. added another run in the eighth when Kyle Schwarber and Will Smith hit back-to-back singles and Roman Anthony followed with an RBI single to left field, though Ron Marinaccio stranded further damage by retiring pinch-hitter Bryce Harper on a fly ball to end the inning.

Crow-Armstrong gave the crowd something to roar about in the ninth, launching a shot to the second deck in right field that cut Italy's lead to 8-6 with one out. Bobby Witt Jr. singled to put the tying run in reach, but Gunnar Henderson struck out and Aaron Judge, the heart of the U.S. lineup, swung through a Greg Weissert pitch to end the game and send the Italians into celebration.

The story of the game belonged to Crow-Armstrong, who homered twice and drove in four runs in a performance that deserved a winning stage. Italy's story belonged to three home runs, a dominant starting outing from Lorenzen and a sixth inning that turned a manageable deficit into a rout before Team USA could find its footing.

The Americans now sit and watch. If Italy handles Mexico on Wednesday, the U.S. advances cleanly. If it doesn't, the math gets complicated in ways a roster this talented never expected to face.