USA vs. Great Britain live score, updates, highlights from 2023 World Baseball Classic game
The United States is looking to get its World Baseball Classic off on the right foot in defense of its 2017 title.
Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, and company will be taking on Trayce Thompson and Great Britain, who are looking to surprise Pool C in Arizona’s Chase Field.
The World Baseball Classic has already proven no team is close to infallible. China hung with Japan for six innings before Japan was able to break the game open in Pool B, and Australia defeated Korea in Pool A. That is to say, despite the United States being an overwhelming favorite coming in, Great Britain has the chance to make a big impact early.
Adam Wainwright will be on the mound for the United States, as he makes his WBC debut at age 41. Great Britain has a roster full of burners on the basepaths, which could make for an interesting matchup. Wainwright is one of the best in baseball at holding runners, giving up steals in just 36.4 percent of attempts last year.
With players like Lucius Fox, Anfernee Seymour, Darnell Sweeney, Chavez Young and D’Shawn Knowles running, Great Britain will have to try to engineer some runs. Wainwright isn’t going to make that easy.
Beyond the marquee stars such as Betts and Trout, the United States will also be fielding Pete Alonso, the Cardinals’ deadly duo of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, and newly-minted $300,000,000 man Trea Turner. The lineup is deep, and it will look to make a strong first impression against Great Britain.
The Sporting News is following Great Britain vs. USA live on Saturday.
(All times Eastern)
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USA vs. Great Britain score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | F | |
| Great Britain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| USA | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — |
USA vs. Great Britain live updates, highlights from World Baseball Classic
11:49 p.m. — Petersen just touched 100 mph throwing to Goldschmidt, who seemed a bit stunned. He gets him to pop out to third for the first out of the inning.
11:47 p.m. — Cooper’s night is over, and it will be Michael Petersen on the mound for Great Britain against Goldschmidt-Arenado-Schwarber.
11:44 — Freeland gets the next two batters in quick succession, a flyout from Wylie and three straight takes from Ford.
11:42 p.m. — Thompson makes good contact to the wrong part of the park, as he flies out on the warning track to Trout in dead center. That’s one down for Freeland, who’s only at 24 pitches through 2 1/3 innings of work.
11:41 p.m. — Freeland is back out for another inning against Thompson, who has been the best bat in the order so far for Great Britain.
11:39 p.m. — Trout got one to hit but it just got in on the screws. He flies out to Thompson in center and the inning ends quietly following the leadoff baserunner.
11:37 p.m. — Cooper and Trout have battled it out this at-bat, and the count is now full. Trout has taken some big swings throughout this game, but he still doesn’t have a hit to show for it yet.
11:33 p.m. — Betts looked frustrated with himself after that swing, as he skied it to center for a shallow flyout. Trout will come up with two out and a runner on second, as Cooper tries to get through another inning for Great Britain.
11:32 p.m. — McNeil worked the count full and the USA wisely sent Realmuto on the pitch. It prevented a double play, as he gets to second and McNeil gets thrown out. Betts now steps up with a runner on second and one out.
11:29 p.m. — Realmuto shows how speed can press an infield, as he legs out a chopper to Murray that pulls the Great Britain first baseman off the bag. McNeil comes up with no one out.
11:28 p.m. — Realmuto will lead off here against Cooper, followed by McNeil before the order turns back over to Betts.
11:25 p.m. — Great Britain plates one, but Freeland gets out of the inning with a three-pitch strikeout of Murray.
11:24 p.m. — Both Cardinals corners flash the leather, as Arenado bobbled a ball down the line at third and short-hopped it to first, which Goldschmidt adjusted to snag. These two have by far been the MVPs of this game so far. Great Britain, however, does score Knowles on the play. USA 6, Great Britain 2.
11:22. p.m. — We finally see Great Britain’s speed on display, as Knowles pinch hits for Rudd and puts one into the right field corner. He put on the burners to get to third and potentially spark a Great Britain rally. He hits a little sipping tea celebration as well.
11:19 p.m. — Freeland is still on the mound, and he gets Sweeney swinging to start off the inning. The Rockies southpaw will now face Rudd and Seymour before the order turns over.
11:16 p.m. — Tucker flies out to right to end the inning on a Chavez catch. USA leads 6-1 after six.
11:14 p.m. — Turner now goes down swinging on a ball diving off the plate, bringing up Kyle Tucker with two outs.
11:12 p.m. — After struggling with the careen in the corner on Arenado’s double, Rudd makes up for it with a nice sliding catch on a sinking liner off the bat of Schwarber. Arenado holds at second, and Turner comes up with one out.
11:10 p.m. — Goldschmidt gets things started with a hard-hit single between short and third, bringing Arenado up with one on and no one out. He’s been on base three times. He then immediately gets plated for the third time with an Arenado double into the corner. USA 6, Great Britain 1.
11:08 p.m. — Cooper takes the mound for Great Britain, and he’ll take on the most problematic part of this order so far: Goldschmidt-Arenado-Schwarber.
11:06 p.m. — Freeland gets Ford to fly out to Betts in right to end the inning.
11:04 p.m. — Kyle Freeland is on the mound now, and Chavez Young gets on after two quick outs, including a great stab and throw from Arenado. Harry Ford comes up for Great Britain.
11 p.m. — After a long at-bat, Long gets Trout to swing through another pitch for his second strikeout of the game. Great Britain remains in striking distance, but they need to get to work.
10:54 p.m. — CENTERFIELDER TAKES PRECEDENCE. Someone should remind Rudd of that in left, as Thompson cuts him off to make a catch on McNeil’s fly ball for the second out. That brings Betts up with two out and nobody on, and he gets aggressive and grounds one up the middle for his first hit of the Classic.
10:52 p.m. — Realmuto taps one to first off the end of the bat for the first out of the inning, bringing up McNeil against Long.
10:49 p.m. — Thompson breaks his bat and lines out to Turner at short to end the inning.
10:47 p.m. — Murray flies out to left center for the second out, bringing up Thompson, who is already 2 for 2. He’ll look to bring the Great Britain bats back to life.
10:45 p.m. — Jason Adam now takes the mound for the United States, and he’ll start against Anfernee Seymour who flies out to Betts in right for the first out.
10:42 p.m. — Tucker makes good contact to right but he flies out to end the inning, but not before Schwarber does damage with his three-run shot.
10:39 p.m. — Turner now gets on with a single and brings up Kyle Tucker with two outs, looking to spark another rally with a more comfortable lead.
10:36 p.m. — As the fan said: A Schwarbomb comes. Nearly all of the signs were going that way, with the announcers saying he was eyeing the pool in right. Schwarber drives in three to give the United States some breathing room off a hanging changeup. USA 5, Great Britain 1.
10:34 p.m. — Ryan Long is on the mound for Great Britain, and he gets Arenado to pop out to third via infield fly after falling behind 2-0. Schwarber is up in the five-hole with two out and runners on first and second.
10:30 p.m. — Esch’s night ends as he hits Goldschmidt to bring up Arenado with two on.
10:28 p.m. — Trout swipes second with a terrific jump on Esch. So for the second inning in a row a runner advances into scoring position with one out.
10:26 p.m. — Betts grounds out to second to start this inning for the United States. Trout then walks in four pitches to bring up Goldschmidt, who got things started last inning.
10:22 p.m. — Wainwright gets Rudd to bounce to second and we get an NL East turn with McNeil flipping to Turner, who complete the double play to get out of the inning. Wainwright could come out for the fifth if Mark DeRosa sees fit.
10:21 p.m. — Good swing by Sweeney as he catches one off the end of the bat for a hit, bringing up Jaden Rudd with one out and a runner on first.
10:20 p.m. — Wainwright is back out for the fourth at 43 pitches, and he gets Ward to ground out in the third pitch of the at-bat. He remains efficient sans the home run. Sweeney is up next.
10:17 p.m. — Esch gets McNeil to fly out to left to end the inning and strand three. Necessary inning there for the United States as they not only get on the board but also take the lead.
10:16 p.m. — Realmuto walks for the United States, loading the bases for the No. 9 hitter McNeil. This is the biggest batter in this early game so far.
10:13 p.m. — Tucker laces one up middle and beats the shift to drive in Arenado and give the United States the lead. Just a straight up miss by Sweeney due to some weird spin. USA has its first lead. USA 2, GBR 1
10:11 p.m. — Jake Esch is now on the mound for Great Britain, and he’ll immediately see the Astros’ Kyle Tucker with runners at the corners and two outs. Potentially big AB here.
10:08 p.m. — Turner has worked the count full with Arenado still looming on third. He sparks the crowd with a rocket down the line but it goes foul. Worley is about to throw his 60th pitch, so his limit is encroaching. Turner draws a walk and that’ll be it for Worley.
10:05 p.m. — Arenado gets the United States on the board with a scorcher down the line to plate Goldschmidt. Schwarber flies out to center on his next at-bat and Arenado advances to second. Big turnaround here for the United States to tie things up.
10:04 p.m. — Goldschmidt now advances on a wild pitch from Worley to get into scoring position. Still one down.
10:03 p.m. — Goldschmidt successfully reaches on the next pitch as Great Britain misses on a throw to first and the tag just misses. Arenado will dig in with one down.
10:02 p.m. — Worley continues his strong outing, getting Trout to fly out on a deep fly to left. That’s the second ball someone’s gotten a hold of that’s come up just short of the fence. Goldschmidt-Arenado will be up next for the United States.
9:59 p.m. — Young flies out to center to ends the threat, and Wainwright has gotten through three innings with just the home run to his name. Now it falls on the USA bats to get things going here in the bottom of the frame.
9:57 p.m. — Wainwright gets Ford to ground out to third, and Thompson holds at third for the second out. The inning will now ride on Chavez Young once again.
9:54 p.m. — Thompson starts the inning off with a double down the left field line, adding on to his homer earlier. He advances to third on a flyout, testing the arm of Betts in right.
9:51 p.m. — Worley gets Betts to foul out to end the inning unscathed once again. As a reminder, the limit for Worley is 65 pitches.
9:47 p.m. — Realmuto gets on with a double for the United States, and Jeff McNeil is up next. Worley is about to throw his 40th pitch in his second inning, with Betts looming in the on-deck circle. McNeil grounds out to second for the second out, advancing Realmuto and bringing Betts up.
9:43 p.m. — Tucker skies one to right-center for the first out of the inning, drawing up Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto.
9:42 p.m. — Wainwright gets out of the inning, and the United States will begin Kyle Tucker.
9:38 p.m. — After getting the first two batters, Wainwright has found himself in some unexpected stress as the next two reach. That’ll bring up Murray as the order turns over.
9:31 p.m. — Turner chops out and, despite facing six batters, Worley gets out of the inning unscathed.
9:29 p.m. — Schwarber has again worked the count full for the USA, so Worley is making some high-leverage pitches early here. He walks Schwarber on, which brings up new Philly Trea Turner.
9:26 p.m. — Arenado legs out a chopper up the middle to keep the inning alive as the throw from Nicke Ward came just a hair late. The United States stays alive with two on and two out and Kyle Schwarber coming up to the plate.
9:23 p.m. — Goldschmidt gets on with a walk, and that brings up Nolan Arenado, the other superstar Cardinal bat in this USA lineup.
9:20 p.m. — That’s something to write home about for Worley. he gets Trout swinging on a ball over the plate after being down 3-1. Great job to battle back, and the 2022 NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt is up next.
9:18 p.m. — Mookie Betts jumps on an early Worley pitch and, despite a jolt in the crowd, he flies out to the warning track. That brings up Trout for his first WBC at-bat.
9:15 p.m. — Young pops out behind second to end the inning, but Wainwright doesn’t come out unscathed. Strong start for Great Britain to start out its tournament. USA is up next with Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, and Paul Goldschmidt.
9:13 p.m. — Koperniak gets on with a walk following Thompson. This was the exact start the heavy underdog Great Britain needed. Wainwright does get Ford swinging in the next at-bat, so the inning will now fall on Chavez Young.
9:10 p.m. — Thompson makes an IMMEDIATE impact with a first-pitch home run to left! He smoked that pitch from Wainwright to give Great Britain a 1-0 lead, and he is bestowed with a crown as he gets back to the dugout. Great Britain 1, USA 0.
9:09 p.m. — Wainwright makes quick work of Murray with a swing and a miss on a 1-2 bender. Strong start for the longtime Cardinal, as Trayce Thompson digs in for Great Britain.
9:08 p.m. — America will be wearing its white “home” jerseys and Great Britain has its gray “road” ones. First pitch comes from Wainwright for a ball high and outside.
8:52 p.m. — Here’s a look at the USA and Great Britain lineups, with Mookie Betts occupying his traditional leadoff spot. Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright is on the mount for the USA. Vance Worley will be pitching for Great Britain.
8:50 p.m. — Welcome to USA vs. Great Britain as Pool C play continues! Colombia has already registered a huge upset over Mexico in extra innings in the first game in Arizona, so both countries will look to keep pace here.
USA vs. Great Britain start time
Great Britain and the United States will begin at 9 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. local time in Arizona.
They’ll be playing at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, for the duration of pool play.
How to watch USA vs. Great Britain in World Baseball Classic
- TV channel: Fox
- Live stream: Fox Sports Go, fuboTV
The Fox family of networks are hosting the World Baseball Classic, and the United States will begin on the flagship station.
As this is the USA debut, Fox is airing USA vs. Great Britain on its main channel.