New York Mets starter Nolan McLean made his first start for Team USA in the WBC against Italy, and it didn’t go well. McLean got off to a blazing start, striking out the side in the first inning, but a pair of home runs by catcher Kyle Teel and shortstop Sam Antonacci to put Team USA behind 3-0 as Italy went on to win, 8-6, in a stunning upset.
McLean seemed stunned when the left-hand hitting Teel took him out to the opposite field, and he hit the next batter, right fielder Jac Caglianoni, before Antonacci took him out. McLean ended up going away from his fastball almost completely. That resulted in an extended struggle to regain his command and throw strikes with his breaking stuff, and his final line included two walks and a hit batter as he threw 55 pitches in three innings.
McLean’s control issues also served as a reminder of sending pitchers to the WBC early in spring training. A big part of McLean’s control issues stemmed from not being stretched out yet, and it couldn’t have been fun for Mets manager Carlos Mendoza and GM David Stearns watching as McLean’s pitch count climbed toward the mandatory limit of 65 pitches.
The rest of the game was an extended exercise in futility for Team USA. Italy extended its lead to 5-0 with a two-run shot by Caglianoni, and what followed was a late attempt by the Americans to come back that ultimately fell short despite a pair of late home runs by center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong as Italy held on to notch the win.
Team USA now faces the prospect of early elimination based on the result of today’s game between Mexico and Italy. The elimination possibility kicks in if Mexico wins, which would kick in an intricate series of tiebreakers with all three teams having a record of 3-1 in pool play.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, if the Italy-Mexico game goes nine innings and Mexico wins and scores five or more runs, the U.S. and Mexico would advance. Should Mexico win while scoring four or fewer, it would advance alongside Italy. Team USA manager Mark DeRosa was unaware of the possibility of elimination after the game, saying “our ticket's punched to the quarterfinals,” and he walked back that mistake this morning, saying he “misspoke.”
As for McLean, the Mets and Team USA it will be interesting to see if the Mets ask that he be shut down completely after last night’s misadventure. MLB teams are all over the map when it comes to what they’re allowing their players to do and not do, and that’s sure to become a more prominent issue as different international teams with multiple major leaguers continue to advance.