2023 World Baseball Classic: Team USA wins first game 6-2 vs. Great Britain

Team USA cruised to its first victory at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, defeating Great Britain 6-2 on Saturday at Chase Field. Here’s what you need to know:

Great Britain’s Trayce Thompson opened the game with a home run in the first inning off of Team USA pitcher Adam Wainwright.
USA outscored Great Britain 6-1 the rest of the game en route to victory.
Kyle Schwarber led the USA with three RBIs, blasting a three-run home run in the fourth inning. Nolan Arenado led the USA in hits with three.
USA’s next game is Sunday against Mexico at 10 p.m. ET.

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

A sluggish game

It wasn’t pretty, and it was pretty comical for a while there, but Team USA comes away with an expected win over Great Britain in their first WBC game. But if this game promised the biggest mismatch of Pool C, it hardly delivered.

Thompson put a jolt into the U.S. with a solo shot off Wainwright to give Great Britain a first-inning lead. For the next two innings, Great Britain starter Vance Worley — who hasn’t pitched in the majors in six years — kept Team USA’s all-star lineup off kilter with a bunch of below-90s junk. Schwarber finally busted the game open with a three-run homer in the fourth against reliever Ryan Long.

Yet the entire game was sluggish. Team USA’s pitchers held up their side of the bargain — though they fell somewhat short of dominance — but the hitters collected just nine hits against the most underwhelming slate of pitchers in the Phoenix portion of the bracket. Perhaps the talent gap was so great that it actually worked in Great Britain’s advantage. — Buchanan

USA remains the favorite

Ugly or thrilling, the wins all count the same, of course. The Americans are still the favorite in what otherwise could be a pool that is surprisingly competitive. But Team USA will need to wake up with a wounded and hungry Mexico team awaiting Sunday. — Buchanan