Bobby Witt Jr. makes good on pre-game promise to Paul Skenes vs. Team Mexico

Team USA moved to 3-0 in pool play of the 2026 World Baseball Classic courtesy of a 5-3 win over Mexico on Monday night. This win takes them ever so close to qualifying for the knockout stage, as it would take a herculean effort from both Mexico and Italy to keep USA out of the quarterfinal of the competition.

At times, Team USA’s stacked roster is simply a cheat code. They started reigning NL Cy Young awardee Paul Skenes on the mound, and he proceeded to mow down Mexico’s lineup, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out seven in four innings of work. But Skenes alone wasn’t responsible for holding Mexico in check.

USA’s defense also stepped up; imagine getting rare contact on the baseball off of a Skenes pitch, only for the ball to travel towards the direction of Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. Witt is an elite defensive shortstop, and he sure showed it on Monday, making two incredible diving stops to rob Mexico of base hits.

TWO INCREDIBLE DEFENSIVE PLAYS FOR TEAM USA

Bobby Witt Jr. was making plays in USA's win vs. Mexico pic.twitter.com/0Im8POHlAQ

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 10, 2026

After the game, the Royals star revealed that he was simply making good on the promise he made Skenes.

“I told Skenes, ‘I got your six tonight.’ Whatever happens,” Witt told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Team USA holds off Mexico in heated World Baseball Classic contest

At one point, it looked like USA was going to run away with their game against Mexico. However, with Skenes not going deep into the game, this opened up the possibility of a comeback for Mexico. They tagged Matthew Boyd for three runs, but USA got it together, with Garrett Whitlock earning the save for his team.

For Team USA to not make it to the knockout stage, Mexico has to defeat Italy rather handily and then Italy has to blow Team USA out to make sure that they have the worst run differential among all 3-1 teams in that scenario. But that is very much unlikely to happen.

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