Mar 9, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; United States outfielder Aaron Judge (99) reacts in the middle of the fourth inning against Mexico at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Yankees' Aaron Judge Gets Redemption Shot in WBC

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Joseph Randazzo | Last updated Mar 12, 2026 8:47 AM ET

The United States was embarrassed by Italy in the World Baseball Classic earlier this week. Nobody received more barbs because of it than manager Mark DeRosa, who was convinced that they had moved on before their thumping, and decided to use the game as a chance to rest his guys. Another person who received some residual shrapnel was the Captain of the team and New York Yankees, Aaron Judge.

At one point, Team USA was down 8-0 to Italy. By the time the 9th inning rolled around, Judge came up to the plate with a chance to tie it and redeem a night that looked like it was lost at one point.

The result was an ugly at-bat by Judge against former teammate Greg Weissert, who took Judge down in four pitches. He ended up swinging at a changeup that was practically in the dirt.

Aaron Judge strikes out and Italy secures the upset! pic.twitter.com/ZcsWUYMldI
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 11, 2026

Under the tiebreaker rules, the United States could have been eliminated depending on how the Italy-Mexico game went. Nobody is more thankful than Judge and DeRosa that those conditions were not met, and their previous follies were not their final impressions for this tournament. With Italy’s win, they were able to advance.

After the game, Italy's captain, Vinnie Pasquatino, mocked a USA Team, that they had beaten them the night before.

"You're welcome, USA," Pasquatino said after Italy punched their ticket and advanced in the tournament.

Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

A Chance to Redeem Themselves.

Next up for the United States is Canada, who also advanced from Pool Play. After big wins over Brazil and Mexico, Team USA can use that game to get back on track. In particular, the best way for Judge to wipe the taste of that strikeout out of his mouth is to do what he's done all tournament, which is strike early with a longball.

If anybody can do it, it's Judge. He hasn't looked much different for this WBC than he does during the regular season. In these three games, Judge is hitting .250/.429/.625 with two homers and five RBI. He almost added another WBC homer to his collection against Brazil, but a ball died at the warning track in the cavernous center field of Daikin Park.

What the United States needs to do as a whole is take the tournament more seriously because, given the reaction to that loss against Italy, it's clear there's a ton of pressure on them to win. The fact is, they're too stacked and came with too much hype to not make it to the finals and win. Anything less than that is a failure.

They'll just have to get through the likes of Japan or the Dominican Republic if they're going to complete their goal. It won't be an easy task.

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This article first appeared on New York Yankees on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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