The United States is on the ropes in the World Baseball Classic after Tuesday’s shock 8-6 loss to Italy — and now U.S. manager Mark DeRosa is in the hot seat after revealing he doesn’t know where the team stands in the tournament standings.
The US – favorites to win the WBC – lost to Italy after failing to complete a wild comeback. The States fell behind 8-0 before hitting six straight runs, but the US ultimately couldn’t make up the deficit and fell to 3-1 in pool play.
Although the United States entered Tuesday’s game undefeated, it has yet to secure a spot in the knockout stages. A win over Italy would clinch the U.S., something DeRosa didn’t know before the game.
In an interview on MLB Network Tuesday morning, before the Italy game, DeRosa talked about the U.S. already having a spot in the quarterfinals.
“Ton of respect to Italy. It’s weird, we want to win this game even though Mexico punched our ticket to the quarterfinals because they’re actually playing Italy,” DeRosa said. “So, the way the schedule is structured is an important game for us.”
DeRosa’s comments came under scrutiny as Tuesday’s game unfolded and Italy took a commanding lead, especially in light 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 the ‘Hot Stove’ with a couple of friends today and completely misread the calculations,” DeRosa told reporters after the loss. “We knew Mexico was going to play Italy and run all the stats if we lost with the runs and runs and outs we allowed tonight. So, I misspoke.”
The future of the US now rests on the outcome of Wednesday’s match between Mexico and Italy.
If Italy wins, the US takes the lead.
If Mexico wins in nine innings and scores five or more runs, the United States advances. If Mexico wins in nine innings and scores fewer than five runs, the states are eliminated.
