Aaron Judge, Roman Anthony lead Team USA over Mexico at WBC

Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer and Roman Anthony added a three-run shot in a big third inning to lead the United States to a 5-3 victory over Mexico in the World Baseball Classic at Daikin Park in Houston on Monday night. The United States improved to 3-0 and will face Italy (2-0) on Tuesday night, looking to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals in Houston this weekend. Jarren Durán hit two home runs for Mexico (2-1), which will face Italy on Wednesday night in the final game of Group B. Anthony and Durán are teammates on the Boston Red Sox. "We already sent him some texts. He had a great night. He looks great," Anthony said. The game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 41,628 who were decidedly pro-Mexico. "I think, at least for me, it's the loudest game I've ever been in," Anthony said. "Just amazing to have baseball like that at the beginning of the year. And it's always great when you win. So the vibes are great." Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes allowed one hit and struck out seven in four innings as the United States beat Mexico in the WBC for the first time since 2006. The Americans lost 11-5 to Mexico in 2023. "I think I gave up a hit, but it didn't matter because Judge threw him out at third. One of the best pitches I've ever seen," Skenes said. "It was amazing. Great atmosphere." The United States led by three entering the eighth inning before Duran drove Matthew Boyd deep for his second home run. Boyd then hit Randy Arozarena in the arm with a pitch before striking out Jonathan Aranda. Griffin Jax took control and induced a double play groundout by Alejandro Kirk to end the inning. Bryce Harper singled on a ball that hit reliever Jesús Cruz in the leg with no outs in the third inning. Judge continued his drive to right field to put the Americans up 2-0 and give him two home runs in the tournament. Kyle Schwarber singled and Cal Raleigh was hit by a pitch with one out before Anthony's home run to right-center field increased the lead to 5-0. Durán homered for the second straight game, hitting a solo shot off Boyd that cut the lead to 5-1 with one out in the sixth. There were two in and two out when Joey Meneses singled to make the score 5-2. The Associated Press contributed to this report.