Overview
- Japan opened Pool C with a 13–0, seven-inning mercy-rule win over Chinese Taipei, highlighted by Shohei Ohtani’s second-inning grand slam and 2.2 scoreless innings from Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
- Team USA begins Pool B play against Brazil at 8 p.m. ET on FOX in Houston, with Logan Webb starting and a confirmed top of the order of Bobby Witt Jr., Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge.
- Tarik Skubal is scheduled to start Saturday against Great Britain in his lone WBC appearance before returning to the Tigers, and Paul Skenes is slated to face Mexico next week.
- Manager Mark DeRosa said tournament pitch counts and spring-training ‘guardrails’ will limit how long starters work and dictate scheduling to keep them on track for MLB Opening Day.
- Clayton Kershaw has been assigned an emergency-only role after an exhibition outing, and opponent Brazil reached the 2026 field via a 2025 qualifier and has no active MLB players.