The United States is on the ropes in the World Baseball Classic after a shocking 8-6 loss to Italy on Tuesday — and now U.S. manager Mark DeRosa is on the hot seat for a premature celebration.
The U.S. — the favorites to win the WBC — lost to Italy after failing to complete a wild comeback. The States fell behind 8-0 before rattling off six straight runs, but the U.S. ultimately couldn’t make up the deficit and fell to 3-1 in pool play.
Though the United States entered Tuesday’s game undefeated, it had not yet clinched a spot in the knockout stage. A win against Italy would have put the U.S. through, a fact that DeRosa was seemingly unaware of prior to the game.
During an interview on MLB Network on Tuesday morning, before the Italy game, DeRosa spoke as if the U.S. had already secured a spot in the quarterfinals.
“Ton of respect for Italy. It’s weird, we want to win this game even though our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals because Mexico plays Italy actually,” DeRosa said. “So, the way the schedule lines up, this is an important game for us.”
DeRosa’s comments drew scrutiny as Tuesday’s game unfolded and Italy took a commanding lead, particularly in the wake of the manager’s decision to rest starters Bryce Harper and Alex Bregman and warm up emergency reliever Clayton Kershaw.
After the game, DeRosa said he “misspoke” when he said the U.S. had already advanced.
“I was on ‘Hot Stove’ with a couple of buddies today and completely misread the calculations,” DeRosa told reporters after the loss. “We knew Mexico was going to play Italy and running all the numbers with if we lost tonight with the runs allowed and runs scored and outs. So, I just misspoke.”
The United States’ fate now rests on the outcome of Wednesday’s game between Mexico and Italy.
If Italy wins, the U.S. will advance.
If Mexico wins in nine innings and scores five or more runs, the United States will advance. If Mexico wins in nine innings and scores fewer than five runs, the States will be eliminated.
