World Baseball Classic Preview: Mexico vs. United States 03/09/2026

FUBO

Mexico (2-0) vs. United States (2-0)

Date: Monday, March 9
Time: 8:00 pm EST
Broadcast: Fox
Field: Daikin Park, Houston, TX

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Probable Starting Pitchers

Manny Barreda (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 K) vs. Paul Skenes (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 K)

Barreda pitched across three different teams last season, making 38 appearances with 33 of those coming as starts, going 12-11 with a 4.92 ERA, a 1.40 WHIP, and 143 strikeouts in 190.1 innings.

Skenes this spring in his lone start went 2.1 innings, giving up a run on one hit; he walked four and struck out four in 2.1 innings. Last season, en route to his first career Cy Young Award, he made 32 starts, going 10-10 with a 1.97 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, and 216 strikeouts in 187.2 innings.

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Player To Watch

Mexico:

Alek Thomas has had a great start to the tournament, hitting .571 with a 1.625 OPS. Thomas has a home run, five RBI, three runs scored, and a walk. Last season, in 143 games with the Diamondbacks, he hit .249 with a .659 OPS. Thomas had 19 doubles, three triples, nine home runs, 38 RBI, 51 runs scored, seven stolen bases, and 21 walks.

United States:

Roman Anthony, through two games, is hitting .375 with two RBI, two runs scored, and three walks. The 21-year-old made his debut last season, appearing in 71 games, hitting .292 with a .859 OPS. He had 18 doubles, a triple, eight home runs, 32 RBI, 48 runs scored, four stolen bases, and 40 walks.

WBC Team Leaders

Mexico

AVG – Alek Thomas – .571
HR – Jarren Duran – 1
RBI – Alek Thomas – 5
W – Taijuan Walker – 1
ERA – Javier Assad – 0.00
K – Alexander Armenta – 3

USA

AVG – Gunnar Henderson – .800
HR – Aaron Judge – 1
RBI – Brice Turang – 4
W – Logan Webb – 1
ERA – Clay Holmes – 0.00
K – Logan Webb – 6

WBC Team Stats

Mexico

AVG: .338
OPS: 1.134
R: 24
HR: 6
ERA: 1.20
K: 16
WHIP: 1.27

USA

AVG: .314
OPS: .961
R: 24
HR: 2
ERA: 3.00
K: 33
WHIP: 0.56

Next Up:

Mexico: March 11 vs. Italy
United States: March 10 vs. Italy

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