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Team USA once again controls its destiny in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, following a close call in pool play for the tournament favorites.
Next come the knockout rounds, in which the Americans are one of eight teams left as they try to avenge their loss in the 2023 championship game. All of the WBC’s heavy hitters remain in the field, but the U.S. is still the tournament favorite at BetMGM.
Up first for Team USA is a game against Canada in the quarterfinals on Friday. Here’s everything you need to know about the border battle.
[Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season]
USA-Canada will be the second quarterfinal game on Friday, beginning at 8 p.m. ET in Houston. Korea-Dominican Republic is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET in Miami.
You can watch the game on Fox and its streaming platform.
The pitching matchup will be between MLB veterans, with Logan Webb taking the mound for Team USA against Canada’s Michael Soroka. Webb allowed one run in four innings while striking out six in Team USA’s WBC opener against Brazil, and Soroka lasted three innings while allowing one run against Colombia in his prior outing for Canada.
Based on their respective MLB careers, the advantage clearly goes to Webb. The San Francisco Giants’ ace has been one of the most dependable pitchers in baseball the past few years, surpassing 200 innings in every season from 2023 to 2025. Soroka showed promise early in his career, finishing second in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2019, but injuries have been a persistent obstacle since then.
Still, this early in the year. You never know who’s going to show up to the ballpark feeling their pitches better.
Team USA used different lineups throughout pool play — likely needing to keep their players’ teams happy — but rolled out the same lineup against Brazil and Mexico, which might be a good indication that’s the Plan A lineup.
Here it is:
Canada has also switched things up, but here’s the lineup they used in their final game of pool play, which was a must-win:
You probably don’t need us to tell you which lineup is better. One has a combined 26 All-Star selections, and the other has one (Josh Naylor).
Logan Webb did well against Brazil in Team USA's WBC opener. (Troy Taormina-Imagn Images)
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS
Not well enough to avoid sweating things out on the final day.
Team USA’s journey through the first phase has been dissected repeatedly. The Americans were dominant against Brazil and Great Britain, won what should’ve been a pool-deciding game over Mexico,then got pounced on by Italy. The loss left them in a situation in which Italy-Mexico decided their fate, and fortune was on their side there.
You might have also heard a thingor two about their manager’s quotes.
Canada, meanwhile, faced a dire situation after a 4-3 loss to Panama in its second game. Pool A was arguably the most competitive of the WBC, and Canada had two serious threats to face in Puerto Rico and Cuba. The Canadians got it done, squeaking by Puerto Rico and then beating Cuba to emerge as the pool winner.
Team USA is the overwhelming favorite to advance to the semifinals, at -800 on BetMGM, while Canada is +550. The over/under is 9.5 runs.
It’s very difficult to assess team-wide trends based on only four games, especially when those games take place during a time that is normally spent on spring training.
The Brazil and Great Britain victories, as well as the Italy loss, saw the vaunted American offense take a while to get going. It didn’t hurt them in the first two games, but against an Italian team featuring several MLB players, the end result was a disaster.
Like in most WBCs, it probably comes down to pitching. The Italians pounced on Nolan McLean, a promising but relatively unproven pitcher for the New York Mets. They got more runs off long reliever Ryan Yarbrough, a competent veteran arm who has never been mistaken for an All-Star.
Fortunately for the Americans, their pitching seems set up nicely from here on out. The bullpen will be rested, and after Webb, the likely starting pitchers for Team USA are reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes and the recently added Joe Ryan, who earned All-Star honors last year.
Continue reading...
Next come the knockout rounds, in which the Americans are one of eight teams left as they try to avenge their loss in the 2023 championship game. All of the WBC’s heavy hitters remain in the field, but the U.S. is still the tournament favorite at BetMGM.
Up first for Team USA is a game against Canada in the quarterfinals on Friday. Here’s everything you need to know about the border battle.
[Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season]
When is USA-Canada in the WBC?
USA-Canada will be the second quarterfinal game on Friday, beginning at 8 p.m. ET in Houston. Korea-Dominican Republic is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET in Miami.
Where can you watch USA-Canada?
You can watch the game on Fox and its streaming platform.
Who is pitching in USA-Canada?
The pitching matchup will be between MLB veterans, with Logan Webb taking the mound for Team USA against Canada’s Michael Soroka. Webb allowed one run in four innings while striking out six in Team USA’s WBC opener against Brazil, and Soroka lasted three innings while allowing one run against Colombia in his prior outing for Canada.
Based on their respective MLB careers, the advantage clearly goes to Webb. The San Francisco Giants’ ace has been one of the most dependable pitchers in baseball the past few years, surpassing 200 innings in every season from 2023 to 2025. Soroka showed promise early in his career, finishing second in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2019, but injuries have been a persistent obstacle since then.
Still, this early in the year. You never know who’s going to show up to the ballpark feeling their pitches better.
What lineups can we expect in USA-Canada?
Team USA used different lineups throughout pool play — likely needing to keep their players’ teams happy — but rolled out the same lineup against Brazil and Mexico, which might be a good indication that’s the Plan A lineup.
Here it is:
Bobby Witt Jr., SS
Bryce Harper, 1B
Aaron Judge, RF
Kyle Schwarber, DH
Alex Bregman, 3B
Cal Raleigh, C
Roman Anthony, LF
Byron Buxton, CF
Brice Turang, 2B
Canada has also switched things up, but here’s the lineup they used in their final game of pool play, which was a must-win:
Otto Lopez, SS
Josh Naylor, 1B
Tyler O’Neill, RF
Abraham Toro, 3B
Owen Caissie, LF
Matt Davidson, 1B
Bo Naylor, C
Denzel Clarke, CF
Edouard Julien, 2B
You probably don’t need us to tell you which lineup is better. One has a combined 26 All-Star selections, and the other has one (Josh Naylor).
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Logan Webb did well against Brazil in Team USA's WBC opener. (Troy Taormina-Imagn Images)
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS
How did these teams fare in pool play?
Not well enough to avoid sweating things out on the final day.
Team USA’s journey through the first phase has been dissected repeatedly. The Americans were dominant against Brazil and Great Britain, won what should’ve been a pool-deciding game over Mexico,then got pounced on by Italy. The loss left them in a situation in which Italy-Mexico decided their fate, and fortune was on their side there.
You might have also heard a thingor two about their manager’s quotes.
Canada, meanwhile, faced a dire situation after a 4-3 loss to Panama in its second game. Pool A was arguably the most competitive of the WBC, and Canada had two serious threats to face in Puerto Rico and Cuba. The Canadians got it done, squeaking by Puerto Rico and then beating Cuba to emerge as the pool winner.
Who is favored in USA-Canada?
Team USA is the overwhelming favorite to advance to the semifinals, at -800 on BetMGM, while Canada is +550. The over/under is 9.5 runs.
What does Team USA need to do better?
It’s very difficult to assess team-wide trends based on only four games, especially when those games take place during a time that is normally spent on spring training.
The Brazil and Great Britain victories, as well as the Italy loss, saw the vaunted American offense take a while to get going. It didn’t hurt them in the first two games, but against an Italian team featuring several MLB players, the end result was a disaster.
Like in most WBCs, it probably comes down to pitching. The Italians pounced on Nolan McLean, a promising but relatively unproven pitcher for the New York Mets. They got more runs off long reliever Ryan Yarbrough, a competent veteran arm who has never been mistaken for an All-Star.
Fortunately for the Americans, their pitching seems set up nicely from here on out. The bullpen will be rested, and after Webb, the likely starting pitchers for Team USA are reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes and the recently added Joe Ryan, who earned All-Star honors last year.
Continue reading...
