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Team USA and Yankees Captain Aaron Judge made a statement early in the first game for Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic last night, playing Brazil at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas.

Judge hit a two-run home run in the top of the first inning to left center field on a hanging sweeper over the center of the plate from Brazil starting pitcher Bo Takahashi. Judge’s home run traveled 406 feet with a 106.3 mph exit velocity and a 25-degree launch angle, according to MLB.com’s box score.

Team USA went on to defeat Brazil 15-5, in which Brazil’s pitchers struggled with overall command and effectiveness, with five USA batters getting on base via the walk in the top of the ninth, and Team USA walking a total of 17 times throughout the entire game.

USA’s Lineup Had Several Key Contributions

Aside from Aaron Judge’s home run, Team USA, in their 15-run drought, received contributions from young Brewers second baseman Bryce Turang with 3 hits and 4 RBI’s, and young Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony, collecting a pair of hits himself with 2 RBI’s. New Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman walked four times. 

It’s a strong start for Team USA as their roster on paper features a mix of young up-and-coming talent and all-stars, but the majority of this game wasn’t a lopsided score.

Team USA was leading 3-1 in the fourth inning, but a four-run fifth made it 7-1. However, Brazil didn’t give up, as they scored three runs in the 7th thanks to a Lucas Rojo RBI single and Victor Mascai’s two-run home run to cut the deficit to only three runs. Team Brazil also tacked on another run in the 8th inning, but so did the U.S, keeping the deficit the same as an 8-5 ball game with still another full inning to play.

It wasn’t until the top of the 9th inning that things really got out of control for Team Brazil and their bullpen, allowing seven walks and three base hits from Brice Turang, Bryce Harper, and Roman Anthony.

Team USA Plays Again Tonight

Despite last night’s victory, it will be a quick turnaround for Team USA, as they play against Team Great Britain tonight at 8:00 PM, which features Aaron Judge’s Yankees teammate, second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr, who is on Great Britain’s roster this year for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

The game will be played again at Daikin Park in Houston, and Team USA will send Detroit Tigers ace, hard-throwing left-hander Tarik Skubal to the mound, who’s widely considered as one of, if not the best, pitcher in all of baseball currently. Skubal will make just this one start for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic tonight, and then will return to Tigers Spring Training in Lakeland, Florida, afterwards.

Skubal is a free agent at the end of the 2026 season, and, with his agent Scott Boras, and the Detroit Tigers, made a decision/agreement among all three parties before the start of the tournament that he’d only pitch in one game.

The U.S. will be looking to see Skubal’s dominance tonight, and also increase their offensive production with the bats, as they look to finish the job this time around after losing to Team Japan in the Finals in the last WBC tournament back in 2023, in which Japanese DH/starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani struck out Angels outfielder Mike Trout to end the 2023 World Baseball Classic Championship Game in Miami, Florida.

For Team USA’s sake, they’re hoping that this is just the beginning of a much different trajectory compared to the final result in 2023. With Captain Aaron Judge at the helm, that is certainly a possibility.

 

Matt Cunningham Matt Cunningham is an Endicott College Graduate with a Bachelor’s in Sport Management. He is an avid follower of Major League Baseball, a Heavy Sports Contributor for the Yankees and all 30 MLB teams, and a Member of the MLB Fan Council. More about Matt Cunningham

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