Team USA flexed its offensive muscle one last time before the tournament begins, routing the Colorado Rockies 14–4 on Wednesday afternoon in Arizona in its final exhibition before the World Baseball Classic.
USA launched five home runs and piled up runs late to turn a close game into a rout as captain Aaron Judge, Alex Bregman, Will Smith, Paul Goldschmidt and Byron Buxton all went deep.
The game began quietly for Team USA when Rockies starter Kyle Freeland retired both Bobby Witt Jr. and Bryce Harper to open the contest. But Judge wasted no time making his presence felt, crushing a towering solo home run to left field to give Team USA an early 1–0 lead in the first inning.
On the mound, left-hander Ryan Yarbrough opened for Team USA and delivered a clean first inning. He struck out Jake McCarthy before getting a bunt groundout from Adael Amador and a flyout from Mickey Moniak.
Colorado answered in the second inning. After a double from Braxton Fulford and a single by TJ Rumfield, Kyle Karros lifted a sacrifice fly to left that brought Fulford home to tie the game 1–1.
Team USA quickly regained control in the middle innings. An RBI single from Pete Crow-Armstrong scored Bregman to make it 2–1, and a wild pitch from Rockies pitcher TJ Shook allowed Ernie Clement to cross the plate for a 3–1 advantage.
The Rockies briefly surged ahead in the fourth. Newly retired Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw took over after Yarbrough’s three-inning start but surrendered a solo home run to Moniak that cut the lead to 3–2. Moments later, Karros struck again, launching a two-run homer against Rockies prospect Carson Skipper to give Colorado a short-lived 4–3 lead.
The Americans responded immediately. In the fifth inning, Bregman blasted a two-run homer off Gabriel Hughes to restore the lead for Team USA.
From there, the lineup erupted. Smith opened the sixth with a solo home run against RJ Petit to make it 6–4. Goldschmidt followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Crow-Armstrong, and Buxton added an RBI single after entering as a pinch-hitter for Kyle Schwarber.
The rally continued when Brice Turang ripped a two-run double, pushing the lead to 10–4 before Colorado could escape the inning.
Team USA added more fireworks in the eighth inning. Goldschmidt and Buxton each launched solo homers off Connor Staine, stretching the margin to 12–4 as the Americans cruised to the 14–4 victory.
Yarbrough finished with three innings of one-run baseball to start the game, while Turang drove in two runs off the bench and Crow-Armstrong collected two hits.
With the exhibition slate complete, Team USA now turns its attention to the official start of the tournament. The Americans open Pool B play Friday in Houston against Brazil, with group-stage matchups also scheduled against Great Britain, Mexico and Italy.
If Wednesday’s offensive explosion is any indication, Team USA enters the World Baseball Classic with its bats already in championship form.
