Italy stuns the US 8-6 in World Baseball Classic, leaving the Americans needing help to advance

Kyle Teel, Sam Antonacci and Jac Caglianone homered as Italy built a big lead and held on to stun the United States 8-6 Tuesday night in the World Baseball Classic.

The U.S. is done with pool play at Houston's Daikin Park and needs the Italians to beat Mexico Wednesday night to be guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinals. If Mexico beats Italy, the three teams will be knotted at 3-1 and the winners will be determined by a tiebreaker, with the team that allowed the most runs eliminated.

Italy starter Michael Lorenzen allowed two hits in 4 2/3 scoreless innings to keep the Americans off balance.

Pete Crow-Armstrong homered twice and drove in four runs, and Gunnar Henderson added a solo shot for the U.S., but the rally came up short when Greg Weissert struck out Aaron Judge with a runner on to end it.

Crow-Armstrong’s second homer, a shot to the second deck in right field, cut the lead to 8-6 with one out in the ninth. Bobby Witt Jr. singled and Henderson struck out before Judge whiffed to start the Italian celebration.

The U.S. was down by 8-1 with two outs in the seventh when Crow-Armstrong hit a majestic three-run homer to right field.

Kyle Schwarber and Will Smith hit back-to-back singles with two outs in the eighth before Roman Anthony’s RBI single on a line drive to left field. But Ron Marinaccio retired pinch-hitter Bryce Harper on a fly ball to end the inning.

Teel’s home run to the Crawford boxes in left field gave Italy an early lead with two outs in the third. McLean then plunked Caglianone before Antonacci’s homer to the bullpen in right-center made it 3-0.

Caglianone’s two-run shot off Ryan Yarbrough pushed the lead to 5-0 with no outs in the fourth.

The Italians added a run on an error, another on a sacrifice fly and a third on a wild pitch by Brad Keller to push the lead to 8-0 in a sloppy sixth by the U.S.

The U.S. finally got on the board with Henderson's homer in the sixth.

Defending champion Japan completed an unbeaten group stage at the World Baseball Classic, beating the Czech Republic 9-0 at the Tokyo Dome on Tuesday night behind a nine-run eighth inning capped by Munetaka Murakami's grand slam.

After outscoring opponents 39-9 in going 4-0, Japan advanced to a quarterfinal on Saturday in Miami against Venezuela or the Dominican Republic.

Japan rested Shohei Ohtani, who is hitting .556 with two homers, six RBIs and four walks.

The Czechs, the 2025 European championship bronze medalists, finished 0-4 and were outscored 39-5 while batting .167, 19th among the 20 teams and ahead of only Brazil (.130).

Kenya Wakatsuki hit a go-ahead double in the eighth off loser Michal Kovala, who was removed after Ukyo Shuto's three-run homer. Shugo Maki drew a bases-loaded walk from Ryan Johnson, a two-way player who also appears at first base. Murakami drove a fastball at the top of the strike zone 425 feet into the right-center field seats.

Czech starter Ondrej (pronounced Andre) Satoria allowed six hits over 4 2/3 innings, throwing 42 changeups among 67 pitches. His fastest offering was 79.9 mph.

Satoria is famous in Japan. He struck out Ohtani on three pitches in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

“I’m sad,” Satoria said before the game, knowing Ohtani was out of the lineup. “I think a lot of fans are sad, too. Maybe he’s resting for the long trip to Miami.”

Winner Yumeto Kanemaru struck out five over two perfect innings.

All of the Czech players have day jobs. Satoria, who is retiring from the national team, is an electrician and manager Pavel Chadim — that’s Dr. Chadim — is a neurologist.

Chadim wore the 2025 European championship bronze medal to an interview session.

“I have this medal because I want to show to some people in the world that we are not baseball tourists,” Chadim said. “We are doing baseball as professionals. We don’t want excuses. We play as professionals on the field.”

Jake Gelof drove in three runs and Matt Mervis doubled twice to lead Israel (2-2) over the Netherlands (1-3) in a Group D matchup of already eliminated teams.

Xander Bogaerts' run-scoring grounder and Didi Gregorius' sacrifice fly put the Dutch ahead in the first at Miami but Gelof cut the deficit with an RBI double in the second.

Mervis’ two-run double capped a five-run sixth against loser Kevin Kelly. RJ Schreck hit a tying RBI single and Geloff followed with a two-run single for a 4-2 lead. Four runs in the inning were unearned because Garrett Stubbs reached on a one-out fielding error by first baseman Sharlon Schoop.

Josh Mallitz got the last out in the fifth for the win and Ben Simon struck out three around three walks in the ninth in a non-save situation.

Druw Jones had four walks for the Netherlands, which went 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

Dutch reliever Ryjeteri Merite allowed one hit in 3 1/3 scoreless innings as he appeared in his fifth WBC, tying a mark shared by Venezuela's Miguel Cabrera and Cuba's Alfredo Despaigne.

Rico Garcia forced in the tying and go-ahead runs with consecutive bases-loaded walks to Tyler O’Neill and Tyler Black in the third inning, and Canada beat host Puerto Rico in San Juan to remain in contention to advance from Group A.

Puerto Rico (3-1) had already clinched a berth in the quarterfinals. Canada and Cuba are both 2-1 going into their final game Wednesday, and with a win Canada would advance past the first round for the first time.

In a game that started after a 69-minute rain delay, Nolan Arenado’s first-inning RBI single off winning pitcher Jordan Balazovic put Puerto Rico ahead, but Canada loaded the bases in the third against José De León, and Garcia struggled with control when he relieved.

Abraham Toro added a run-scoring single against Raymond Burgos in the fourth for a 3-1 lead but Martín Maldonado had an RBI groundout against Logan Allen in the bottom half.

Angel Reyes retired Josh Naylor on an inning-ending flyout to strand the bases loaded in the ninth. Brock Dykxhoorn then got three straight outs for his first save.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Italy shortstop Sam Antonacci (10) celebrates his home run against the United States with right fielder Jac Caglianone (14) in the second inning of a World Baseball Classic game, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Italy catcher Kyle Teel (3) celebrates as he run the bases after a home run against the United States inning of a World Baseball Classic game, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Israel's Jake Gelof (45) follows through on a RBI single to score two runs during the sixth inning of a World Baseball Classic game against the Netherlands, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Israel's Zach Levenson, left, RJ Schreck, center, and Noah Mendlinger (3) celebrate after Israel defeated the Netherlands in a World Baseball Classic game, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Canada's Denzel Clarke celebrates after scoring against Puerto Rico during the third inning of a World Baseball Classic game in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Czech Republic's pitcher Ondrej Satoria pitches to a Japan batter during the inning of a World Baseball Classic game between Japan and the Czech Republic on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japan's Munetaka Murakami runs for his grand slam home run during the eighth inning of a World Baseball Classic game between Japan and the Czech Republic on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

ROME, Ga. (AP) — Democrat Shawn Harris and Republican Clay Fuller advanced to a runoff for Marjorie Taylor Greene’s former U.S. House seat in Georgia after no candidate won a majority in Tuesday’s special election.

President Donald Trump in February endorsed Fuller, a district attorney who prosecutes crimes in four counties, to succeed Greene in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. Greene, once among Trump's most ardent supporters, resigned in January after a falling out with the president.

Trump's endorsement didn't boost Fuller to a majority of the vote in a 14-candidate field that included nine Republicans, three Democrats, a Libertarian and an independent. But Fuller said he was confident he could bring Republicans together to beat Harris on April 7.

“I think the Republican Party is going to unite around us because they know that the Democrat is too dangerous,” he said Tuesday night. “We can't have a Democrat representing Georgia 14. That would be a tragedy for our community, a tragedy for Georgia 14 and a tragedy for the MAGA movement.”

Trump congratulated Fuller for “getting such a high percentage of the vote” with so many other Republicans in the race.

“Clay will be a GREAT Congressman — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” the president wrote on social media.

Harris, a cattle farmer and retired brigadier general, will face an uphill battle to win a majority in the heavily Republican district. Nevertheless, he was leading in the hours after the polls closed and Democrats are likely to boast of his success as they have focused on strong performances in special elections.

Harris has contrasted himself with Greene’s bomb-throwing style, saying practical-minded Republicans should vote for him because he will work for constituents “not for somebody else who's already in D.C.”

“The way I’m going to go to Congress is that it’s going to be a coalition of Democrats, independents and Republicans,” Harris said Tuesday night.

The winner will serve out the remaining months of Greene’s term. A Republican win in the northwest Georgia district would bolster the party’s slim majority in the House, where Republicans currently control 218 seats to Democrats’ 214.

Fuller was a White House fellow in the first Trump administration and is a lieutenant colonel in the Georgia Air National Guard. He finished fourth in the 2020 Republican primary that Greene won. He credited Trump's nod for propelling him to the runoff.

“They want to know who President Trump was endorsing in this race,” Fuller said. “And that's why they came out in droves to support him, because they want an America First fighter on Capitol Hill fighting for his policies that are going to make a difference for our community.”

Harris said he’s not worried about further Trump intervention.

“If Donald Trump wants to come and do what he wants to do, that’s his business," he said.

This round of voting is only the first step in an elections marathon in the Georgia district. Republicans and Democrats seeking a full two-year term are set for a May 19 party primary, and possibly a June 16 party runoff, before advancing to the general election in November.

Last week, 10 Republicans and Harris qualified to run in November for a full two-year term. That includes Fuller, as well as Colton Moore, a former state senator and favorite of far-right activists who was poised to finish third on Tuesday, short of the runoff.

Those who backed Democrats said they were repelled by Trump and eager to reduce his power.

“There just needs to be checks and balances and I don't think we have many of those right now," said Matthew Wisniewski, a Dallas resident who voted for Harris.

Greene was one of the most well-known members of Congress until she left in January. She remained loyal to Trump after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, promoting Trump’s falsehoods about a stolen election. When Trump ran again in 2024, she toured the country with him and spoke at his rallies while wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat.

But Greene began clashing with Trump last year after he and other Republicans pushed back against her running for U.S. Senate or governor. Greene criticized Trump’s foreign policy and his reluctance to release documents involving the Jeffrey Epstein case. The president eventually had enough, saying he would support a primary challenge against her. Greene announced a week later that she would resign.

This story has been updated to remove quotes from Presley Stover. An earlier version of this story stated that Presley Stover voted for Clay Fuller. She voted for Brian Stover, according to Stover’s campaign.

Associated Press journalist Emilie Megnien contributed to this report.

Democrat Shawn Harris, center, speaks during an Atlanta Press Club forum for candidates in Georgia's 14th Congressional District, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at Georgia Public Broadcasting, in Atlanta. (J. Glenn Photography/Press Club via AP)

FILE - Republican Colton Moore, who resigned from the state Senate to run for Congress, poses for a photo outside the Georgia Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy, File)