SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The United States wasted little time showing how potent its roster could be at the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
The Americans needed just three batters to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning of their exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday after Bobby Witt Jr. singled, Bryce Harper doubled and three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge hit a two-run single.
The U.S. won 15-1 with a 19-hit performance in the 10-inning contest. Roman Anthony hit a two-run homer, Alex Bregman added a solo shot and Gunnar Henderson had a two-run double.
Pittsburgh Pirates ace and National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes had a solid outing, giving up one run and one hit while striking out four over three innings. The right-hander gave up a leadoff double to Willy Adames, who scored on a groundout. Skenes retired his last nine batters.
“It’s a spring-training game, but it’s still surreal,” Skenes said. “It’s going to be exciting when we get to Houston and it’s the real deal.”
Left-hander Matthew Boyd followed Skenes, striking out four over 2 2/3 scoreless innings. David Bednar, Mason Miller, Griffin Jax and Gabe Speier each threw a scoreless inning.
The Americans are trying to win their second WBC title and first since 2017. Manager Mark DeRosa said he was thrilled that all the starters stayed in the dugout well after being taken out of the game, talking with their temporary teammates.
“You look down the dugout, you’re seeing Bregman talking to Roman Anthony, you’re seeing (Tarik) Skubal and Skenes on the top step, you’re seeing Judge and (Cal) Raleigh talking,” DeRosa said. “That’s what I wanted to create, the coaching staff wanted to create — an environment where these guys didn’t want to leave.”
Bregman — who lives in the Phoenix area — had several U.S. teammates over for dinner last night. He said 23-time U.S. gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps spoke to the group for motivation.
“He just shared what it takes,” Bregman said. “Controlling the controllables and getting after it.”
The U.S. will play one more exhibition game in Arizona on Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies before traveling to Houston on Thursday to prepare for the the group stage.
“We’ve got a great group of guys,” Harper said. “Bobby Witt starting it at the top, being a table-setter up there for us. Obviously, one through nine we’ve got a pretty good dynamic. We’ve just got to continue to be good.”
San Francisco Giants ace Logan Webb will start the opener against Brazil on Friday. Two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner Skubal is expected to start Saturday against Britain, followed by Skenes vs. Mexico on Monday.
New York Mets right-hander Nolan McLean is tentatively scheduled to start Tuesday in the final pool-play game against Italy, even though he’s dealing with vertigo-like symptoms and hopes to join the U.S. in Houston. DeRosa said after Tuesday’s exhibition that McLean’s health was improving.
Skubal is expected to make just one start for the U.S. before rejoining the Detroit Tigers for the remainder of spring training.
