After three straight wins to begin the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), Team USA earned a spot out of Pool B, advancing to the quarterfinal round after defeating Mexico, 5-3, in Houston on Monday night. 

Mexico has been the victor in each of the last three matchups against the U.S., including the 2023 game that ended with El Tri taking down the Stars and Stripes, 11-5. 

But thanks to some bat power from captain Aaron Judge and 21-year-old Boston Red Sox phenom Roman Anthony, Team USA was able to end that streak at Daikin Park. 

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After the U.S. was unable to cash in on bases loaded in the first and runners on in the second, Judge wasted no time hitting his second home run of the tournament, taking Jesus Cruz to right field for a 2-0 lead. 

Then, after Kyle Schwarber singled to right, and Cal Raleigh was hit by a pitch, Anthony didn’t miss a stitch of a pitch inside. The towering moonshot took forever to land, and Anthony, who was gunned down at the plate in the bottom of the second inning, got some redemption by breaking the game open. 

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The tone was certainly set by Paul Skenes, who got his first Team USA start in the WBC and was lights out. He allowed just one hit and struck out seven hitters over four innings (60 pitches). 

Skenes’ repertoire was electric as per usual, with sharp breaking sinkers and changeups to go along with a high-90 mph fastball. The former Air Force Academy pitcher has looked forward to this moment for a while, and he didn’t squander the opportunity to help his team.  

After the five-run inning, the U.S. bats went a bit silent, which allowed Mexico a chance to gain momentum. 

It was Anthony’s Red Sox teammate, Jarren Duran, who got El Tri on the board with a solo home run off Matthew Boys, the Chicago Cubs’ ace. 

And that wouldn’t be Duran’s only big fly, as he was clearly seeing the ball well in Houston. After Joey Meneses’ infield single scored Jonathan Aranda later in the top of the sixth inning to make it a 5-2 game, Duran led off the top of the eighth inning with a 374-foot shot to right field off Boyd again.  

Griffin Jax was called upon by manager Mark DeRosa to clean up the frame, and Garrett Whitlock shut the door in the ninth inning to secure the victory. 

With a 3-0 record, the U.S. doesn't have a do-or-die situation in their final pool play contest against Italy on Tuesday night. Of course, they would love to go undefeated and carry momentum into games that will resemble a Game 7 in the postseason each time moving forward. 

Team USA and Italy will square off at Daikin Park on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET.

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The Las Vegas Raiders have flexed their financial muscle on the first day of the legal tampering period in the NFL. 

The Raiders came in with a league-high $111.91 million when the legal tampering period opened on Monday, and they wasted no time revamping their roster in different ways, including shelling out a record-breaking deal. 

Center Tyler Linderbaum was perhaps the best offensive lineman available on the market, and the former Baltimore Ravens first-round pick is heading out to Sin City after agreeing to terms on a three-year, $81 million deal with $60 million guaranteed. He is now the highest-paid interior offensive lineman in NFL history, per ESPN. 

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Linderbaum, 25, cemented himself as one of the best centers in the league when he came out of Iowa, providing a consistent presence snapping the ball to two-time league MVP Lamar Jackson while in Baltimore. 

But with John Harbaugh parting ways, making way for the hiring of head coach Jesse Minter, Linderbaum returning to the Ravens was never a done deal. He was expected to get a hefty long-term deal somewhere in the NFL, but Las Vegas, a team that struggled on the offensive line all through last season, made it worth his while to move to the AFC West. 

It wasn’t just Linderbaum, though. Players from all over were enticed by the Raiders, who opened up the coffers to land key free agent additions, including linebackers Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean. 

Dean agreed to terms before Walker, as the ex-Philadelphia Eagles linebacker is set to make $36 million with $20 million guaranteed. But Walker got more in the end: a $40.5 million deal over three years, including $28 million guaranteed, per his agents. 

Walker, a first-round choice of the Green Bay Packers in the 2022 NFL Draft, is coming off a career year, having tallied 128 tackles to help a solid defensive group in Green Bay. He’s a trusty tackler, notching at least 100 in each of his first four seasons. Only one Packers player since 1975 has been able to do that. 

As for Dean, the 25-year-old Georgia product has 226 total tackles across 47 games with the Eagles, including 7.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and 19 tackles for loss. 

Staying on the defensive side, Kwity Paye shores up the interior line, as the 2021 first-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts reached an agreement on a deal worth $48 million over three years with $32 million in guaranteed money. Paye is known for his ability in run defense, doing a great job setting the edge for his defense to ensure short gains. 

Cornerback Eric Stokes (three years, $30 million) and defensive end Malcom Koonce (one year, $11 million) also return to the Raiders, creating even more defensive reinforcement on the roster. 

Finally, the offensive pass game got a sneaky upgrade, as former Minnesota Vikings receiver Jalen Nailor agreed to terms on a $35 million deal with $23 million guaranteed across three years as well. 

The Raiders may not yet be done with their spending spree, as they have more cap room to work with. They also have the first overall pick in next month’s NFL Draft, where they’re expected to take Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza to start a new era under head coach Klint Kubiak, who is fresh off a Super Bowl title with the Seattle Seahawks. 

In a tough AFC West division, it feels like the Raiders are ready to turn the tides, hoping to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2021. Las Vegas has gone 7-27 combined since 2024. 

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