Aaron Judge sets the tone, Team USA begins World Baseball Classic with 15-5 win over Brazil

Team USA is off and running. The Americans beat Brazil 15-5 in their World Baseball Classic opener Friday night at Daikin Park in Houston in front of 30,825 fans who showed up ready to make noise and were not disappointed.

This was not the dominant wire-to-wire blowout some expected given the roster, but it was a statement win with some genuinely electric moments and a ninth inning that got completely out of hand in the best possible way.

ALL RISE: Aaron Judge Sets Team USA Tone Early

Barely ten minutes into the game he unloaded on a Bo Takahashi fastball for a two-run homer and the crowd lost it.

AARON JUDGE GOES YARD 🇺🇸 #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/rHI5uO5p6m

— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 7, 2026

Judge described it perfectly postgame:

“I can go back to the first inning. Bobby Witt is up there and they are chanting ‘USA.’ My heart was pounding in the on-deck circle. It was an unreal atmosphere.”

That is the WBC doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

Brazil was more competitive than the final score suggests and deserves credit for it. They actually out-homered Team USA three to one. Lucas Ramirez, the son of 12-time All-Star Manny Ramirez and one of the youngest players in the tournament, hit a leadoff homer off Logan Webb on the second pitch of the game, only the tenth leadoff homer in WBC history.

He added a second homer in the eighth inning off Gabe Speier that cut the deficit to three and made things briefly interesting. Brazil kept chipping away and this game had a pulse well into the late innings.

Then the ninth inning happened.

Team USA plated seven runs on three hits. The rest came on walks and a balk. Brazil walked 17 batters total in the game, including five in the ninth inning alone, and manager Mark DeRosa noted afterward that 17 walks might be a WBC record.

The Americans left 12 runners on base and still won by 10. That tells you everything about how poorly Brazil’s pitching was commanded.

Brice Turang’s bases-clearing double off the left-field wall in the fifth was the moment that really opened things up, giving USA a six-run lead and taking the air out of whatever comeback hopes Brazil was building.

Brice delivers with the bases loaded 🫡 pic.twitter.com/yzaKVvtHtv

— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) March 7, 2026

Harp and Schwarbs vs Brazil:

• Bryce Harper: 1-5, RBI, BB, R
• Kyle Schwarber: 2-4, 2 BB, 2 R

Bryce Harper's first World Baseball Classic hit and RBI! pic.twitter.com/fk5gZTZYS8

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 7, 2026

Mark DeRosa was measured after the game, shifting focus quickly to the pitching management side of things given the pitch count rules and bullpen parameters that make the WBC a different kind of chess match than a regular season series.

Team USA plays Great Britain on Saturday at 8 p.m. on FOX. Then comes Monday at 8 p.m. against Mexico, the matchup everyone has been circling since the rosters were announced. Paul Skenes gets the ball.

Complete Schedule: 2026 World Baseball Classic

One game at a time. Team USA is 1-0. The tournament is just getting started.

Join The Chase