After getting off to a strong start at the 2023 World Baseball Classic with a win over Great Britain, Team USA faltered badly in its second game, falling 11-5 to Mexico on Sunday night.
It can be argued that no team in the WBC has a deeper pool of hitters to draw from than the United States, and that prompted manager Mark DeRosa to make some changes compared to the opener.
Gone from the lineup were Philadelphia Phillies teammates Trea Turner, J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber in favor of Tim Anderson, Will Smith and Pete Alonso.
While Anderson went 2-for-4 with three RBI and Smith hit the team's only home run, much of the production came late when the game was already out of reach, as the Americans scored three runs in the eighth inning when down 11-2.