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In the biggest game of Pool B play so far, Team USA will take on Team Mexico in a top-of-the-table clash Monday evening.
Pool B is the tightest of any of the groups in the WBC, with three teams — USA, Mexico and Italy — tied at the top with 2-0 records. Monday will mark the first fixture between any of these teams, and everyone will look to gain an advantage in their race to advance to the knockout rounds.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have two representatives who could feature in the matchup, both of whom play for Team USA. Will Smith is the first, and he’ll look to get into the game and bounce back from an 0-for-2 performance against Great Britain on Saturday. Clayton Kershaw is the other representative, and he is yet to appear in the WBC.
Mexico has dominated this matchup throughout the WBC’s 20-year history, winning three of the four matchups between the teams. In the most recent tournament, Mexico took a commanding 11-5 win over the USA which helped them place first in Pool C.
“Tomorrow’s stadium, I can bet you all that it’s going to be a full house,” said Mexico manager Benji Gil. “It’s going to be packed because of the U.S., and because of Mexico, and because Mexico is facing a great team.
“…It’s become a rivalry when maybe it should never have been a rivalry. Maybe their rival should be Japan, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico. But it’s become a rivalry because we’ve had success.”
Team USA’s sole WBC win over Mexico came in the first installment of the tournament in 2006, where they took a 2-0 victory via two solo home runs from Chipper Jones and Derrek Lee.
Who Will Feature in the USA-Mexico Matchup?
While neither team has set their lineup as of yet, both teams confirmed their starting pitchers for the all-important game.
Paul Skenes will take the mound for Team USA, making his WBC debut, while Team Mexico is going with experience and starting former MLB right-hander Manny Barreda.
Skenes won the 2025 NL Cy Young, and is currently one of the best pitchers in MLB. His 1.97 ERA led all of MLB last season and he struck out 216 batters.
Barreda made three MLB appearances with the Baltimore Orioles in 2021, allowing four runs through 2.2 innings pitched. He has since bounced around international leagues, and last played for Tomateros de Culiacan in the Mexican Pacific Winter League.
Both teams will look towards their pitchers to get off to a good start, and will hope they can secure this must-win matchup to help them advance to the next round.
Who do you think will win the game tonight?
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