Aaron Nola to start for Team Italy in game with massive implications for multiple teams
In case you missed it, Team Italy pulled off a massive upset against Team USA on Tuesday night in the World Baseball Classic. Down 8-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth, the U.S. cut the deficit to 8-6 in the bottom of the ninth, but failed to complete the comeback. Bryce Harper, representing the tying run in the bottom of the eighth as a pinch hitter, flew out to end the inning. A wide throw from Brad Keller to second base allowed Team Italy to score three runs in the top of the sixth. Former Phillie Michael Lorenzen shut down the powerful Team USA lineup over 4 2/3 innings.
The unthinkable could happen. Team Italy and Team Mexico will play on Wednesday night in Houston with both teams having a chance to advance to the quarterfinals. If Team Italy wins, the U.S. will advance as the second-place team in Pool B. The U.S. will face the winner of Pool A in the quarterfinals, either Canada or Puerto Rico.
If Team Mexico wins and scores no more than four runs against Team Italy, Team USA will be eliminated from the tournament based on tiebreakers.
That means all eyes will be on Phillies starter Aaron Nola, who is scheduled to pitch tonight for Team Italy against Team Mexico. His Phillies teammates on Team USA are counting on him to come through.
Nola initially committed to Team Italy for the opportunity to play with his older brother Austin. The older Nola brother ended up retiring from the sport and becoming the Mariners bullpen coach in the offseason. The younger Nola brother, however, wanted to keep his word.
He now finds himself pitching in a big game at a time when he is typically focusing on ramping up to throw close to 200 innings in the regular season. It could be a nice change of pace for Nola, who has a lot to prove coming off the worst season of his career in 2025. Nola has looked sharp so far this spring and his velocity is up relative to what we’re used to seeing out of him at this time of year. A great showing in the WBC could be the start of a Nola comeback season.
For Team USA, a first-round exit is possible, but unlikely. Still, a team with future Hall of Famers all over the roster should not be relying on tiebreakers to advance to the next round. Team USA manager Mark DeRosa is under fire for appearing to believe that his team had already advanced to the quarterfinals prior to the game against Team Italy. When asked about it after the game, DeRosa said he “misspoke.”
“I was on “Hot Stove” with a couple of buddies today and completely misread the calculations,” DeRosa said. “We knew that Mexico was going to play Italy and then running all the numbers if we lost tonight with the runs allowed and runs scored and outs. I just misspoke.”
Phillies players on Team USA in the last WBC were the star of the show. Trea Turner led the tournament with five home runs, Schwarber homered in the finals and J.T. Realmuto batted .500.
It’s a different story this time around. Keller’s error against Team Italy was perhaps the biggest in-game blunder of the upset loss. Harper has not looked great at the plate through the first four games: He is 3-for-15 with five strikeouts. DeRosa opted to start Paul Goldschmidt over Harper at first base against the right-hander Lorenzen on Tuesday, a decision that might have been made with the belief that Team USA had already qualified for the quarterfinals.
No matter what, the final day of pool play in the World Baseball Classic should make for great theatre. Along with the Team Italy vs. Team Mexico game in Houston, Team Dominican Republic and Team Venezuela will face off in Miami in a game with huge seeding ramifications.
Both teams have punched their ticket to the quarterfinals, but the winner of the game will finish first in Pool D and have a much easier path to reaching the semifinals. The loser of Team DR vs. Team Venezuela will face Samurai Japan in the quarterfinals. The winner faces Team Korea, the runner-up in Pool C.