USA vs. Colombia final score, results: Team USA advances to WBC quarterfinals behind Mike Trout, pitching

Kevin Skiver

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USA vs. Colombia final score, results: Team USA advances to WBC quarterfinals behind Mike Trout, pitching image

The United States wasn't the juggernaut it was expected to be in World Baseball Classic pool play this year. Far from it, in fact. However, with a 3-2 win over Colombia on Wednesday, Team USA has a quarterfinal date with Venezuela in Miami after finishing with a 3-1 record in Pool C.

Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly got the start for the U.S., but Mark DeRosa managed a classic opener game. Kelly went the first three innings before six pitchers threw an inning each in a game the United States had to win, or lose by fewer than three runs, to advance.

USA hitters Mookie Betts and Mike Trout stayed in the groove they found against Canada, combining to go 5 for 8 at the top of the order. Trout drove in all three USA runs, including a two-run single in the fifth inning that would eventually be the difference in the game.

The USA, one of the favorites to win the WBC this year, has never been eliminated in pool play in the five WBCs that have been played. It also avoided the fate of a defending champion being eliminated.

Final Pool C standings

Team W-L
Mexico 3-1
USA 3-1
Canada 2-2
Great Britain 1-3
Colombia 1-3

The United States will now turn its attention to Venezuela, the only team besides Japan to go 4-0 in the round-robin portion of the tournament. That game will be at 7 p.m. ET Saturday in Miami.

The Americans' bats were an unexpected problem during pool play, and it didn't dissipate against Colombia. Pete Alonso remains hitless, Tim Anderson struck out three times, and outside of his moonshot against Great Britain, Kyle Schwarber's bat has been stone cold.

MORE: World Baseball Classic daily TV schedule, bracket, results

With that being said, DeRosa and Team USA have a two-day respite to figure things out. For now, they can exhale and start to prepare for a Venezuela team that looked dominant in possibly the toughest pool in the tournament.

The Sporting News provided live updates and highlights of the matchup between Team USA and Colombia in Phoenix.

USA vs. Colombia score

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 F
USA 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 3
Colombia 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

USA vs. Colombia live updates, highlights from World Baseball Classic

(All times Eastern)

1:10 a.m. -- Pressly gets Diaz down 0-2, and he gets him swinging on a pitch in the dirt. Smith throws to first, and the United States advance to quarterfinals against Venezula.

1:08 a.m. -- Díaz lines one to Turner at short and it sneaks under his glove. It's scored a hit, although that's questionable. Colombia remains alive and Sanchez is running for Colombia. Jordan Diaz is hitting for Colombia.

1:08 a.m. -- Rodriguez flies one to the right field corner and Mookie Betts tracks it down for the second out of the inning. Elias Díaz will now pinch hit, and the United States are likely advancing regardless of what happens here. But they're one out away from it being official.

1:05 a.m. -- Arenado makes yet another terrific spear at third, spins, and throws to first for the first out. Rodriguez comes up now against Pressly with one down.

1:01 a.m. -- Anderson does make contact the other way, but it's fielded with ease and Colombia is out of the inning. We head to the bottom of the ninth. At this point, it's a bit of a formality, as it would take some truly crazy circumstances against Ryan Pressly for Colombia to overtake USA in the standings.

1 a.m. -- Mullins goes down swinging for the second out of the inning, and Anderson is up next. He has three strikeouts, so contact in this at-bat is an imperative.

12:58 a.m. -- Alonso got jammed up there and pops out to first, bringing Mullins up with one out.

12:56 a.m. -- Julio Vivas takes the mound for Colombia, and Alonso comes up. Alonso has made decent contact tonight, but he's looking for that elusive first hit of the tournament.

12:53 a.m. -- Urshela grounds out to Turner at short, and that ends the Colombia inning. Easy work there for Williams.

12:52 a.m. -- Williams now gets Ramírez swinging, and both sides have seemingly lost the ability to make contact. Urshela digs in now looking to make an impact, and immediately swings through that nasty changeup.

12:50 a.m. -- Williams gets Mercado swinging on three pitches, promising start for the USA dealer. Ramírez digs in for Colombia next.

12:48 a.m. -- The Brewers' Devin Williams is out to take on Mercado and the rest of the top of the Colombia order.

12:46 a.m. -- Arenado now grounds out to first to end the USA frame. Colombia comes up in dire straits. It needs to string runs together here in the bottom of the eighth.

12:45 a.m. -- Now Zuñiga gets Goldschmidt, bringing Arenado up with two out. 

12:43 a.m. -- Nasty work there from Zuñiga to get Trout swinging. The Cardinals dealer has shown nasty stuff this tournament. Goldschmidt is up next for the United States.

12:41 a.m. -- Colombia now turns to Guillermo Zuñiga, who has had an outstanding tournament thus far. This is Colombia's "we can't allow any more runs" pitcher. He'll have a tall order against Trout-Goldschmidt-Arenado.

12:38 a.m. -- Adam strikes out the side as he gets Frias swinging. USA is now six outs away.

12:36 a.m. -- Now Adam gets Pertuz swinging on a pitch WAY out of the zone for the second out. Frias will try to keep the inning alive.

12:35 a.m. -- Dilson Herrera strikes out, bringing Pertuz up with one out.

12:32 a.m. -- Jason Adam takes the mound for the United States, and Cedric Mullins takes over in left for Kyle Schwarber. Herrera is up for Colombia.

12:29 a.m. -- Betts skies a pitch down and in to center for the third out of the inning, and the two-out rally smolders before it sparks. Colombia will come out in the bottom of the seventh still down one.

12:27 a.m. -- Turner drives one up the middle for a base hit, keeping the inning alive and bringing up the scorching hot top of the order in Betts.

12:25 a.m. -- Anderson goes down swinging for the first out of the inning, his third strikeout of the night. That brings up Smith, who sparked a rally for the United States in the fifth. However, he's first-pitch swinging and flies out to center.

12:24 a.m. -- Tim Anderson is now at the plate against Gomez, who is looking to keep Colombia within striking distance.

12:19 a.m. -- David Bednar is on the mound for the United States, and he gets the first two batters in quick succession to bring up Viloria. Viloria pops out, and that's quick work for the Pirates closer. USA is nine outs away.

12:14 a.m. -- Schwarber grounds into a 4-6-3 double play against Yapson Gomez, ending the inning and giving Colombia manager Cabrera options in the bullpen. The USA lead remains slim.

12:08 a.m. -- Alonso makes good contact there, yanking it to short but just to the wrong part of the field. Arenado retreats to first, Schwarber is up next, and Colombia goes back to the pen.

12:06 a.m. -- Arenado drives one the other way for a leadoff hit, bringing Alonso up still looking for his first hit of the tournament.

12:02 a.m. -- Bard gets Urshela swinging, and that's the inning. Nolan Arenado will lead off for the United States with Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber due up after.

12:01 a.m. -- Despite the rocky start, Bard has the bases clear with two outs. He's 1-2 on Urshela looking for a clean inning.

11:59 p.m. -- The throw was there well before Mercado got in, and it looked like Anderson got the tag on him. Tough call, but this one is overturned.

11:58 p.m. -- Ramirez just missed that pitch from Bard. He makes good contact but it's fielded easily by Schwarber in left. Urshela comes up with one on and one out. Mercado swiped second and the call was safe, and we might well get a review here.

11:56 p.m. -- Bard leads the inning off with a walk to Mercado. Team USA thought Mercado went on the pitch, but the ruling is he didn't. Colombia has the leadoff man on.

11:54 p.m. -- Daniel Bard is on the mound for the United States, as he sees the top of the Colombia order with Mercado.

11:50 p.m. -- The top of the order finally looks like what we expected. Trout smokes one to left and this time, Smith and Betts both score as the throw it cut off. Goldschmidt grounds into a double play on the next pitch (5-4-3), but the United States leaves the inning with the lead 3-2.

11:46 p.m. -- Betts showcases what makes him so good. He scorched one into left and Smith got the stop sign at third. The throw from left was offline and high, and Betts swipes second, giving Trout a golden opportunity here. Colombia is going to make a pitching change as Galindo just got in too deep.

11:44 p.m. -- Galindo throws a great pitch down and in and gets Turner swinging for the first out of the inning. Now he'll have to get through Betts and Trout to strand Smith at second.

11:43 p.m. -- Alfaro did a good job keeping that last pitch in front of him, but it ricochets too far and Smith swipes second. It's 1-2 with nobody out and a runner in scoring position.

11:43 p.m. -- Smith draws a leadoff walk, bringing Phillies shortstop Trea Turner up with a man on and nobody out. He's looking to turn the order over to Betts with a huge opportunity.

11:40 p.m. -- Will Smith is up against Galindo, as Colombia continues to roll through pitchers trying to keep this order off-balance. Galindo falls down 2-0 early in the count.

11:38 p.m. -- USA gets out of the inning unscathed with a Kendall Graveman pickoff at first after almost turning a double play. 

11:31 p.m. -- Romero strikes out the side as he gets Anderson waving on a pitch darting way. Huge inning there for Colombia after capturing the lead.

11:29 p.m. -- Now Schwarber goes down for the second out of the inning, bringing up Anderson with two out. DeRosa is hitting a point where he'll have to get creative with this USA lineup. It simply isn't producing.

11:27 p.m. -- Alonso strikes out, bringing Schwarber up with one out.

11:25 p.m. -- Alonso is now up for the United States, with Schwarber to follow. Romero is on the mound for Colombia looking to preserve this lead.

11:22 p.m. -- Viloria put a charge in one to right center, but Trout tracks it down for the third out. Some damage is done. Now it's on the USA bats to wake up.

11:18 p.m. -- After Alfaro gets on via walk, Rodriguez drives him in with a full count and gives Colombia the lead! Kelly's 56th pitch is a big one, as Rodriguez doubles off the wall and puts Team USA down.

11:13 p.m. -- Colombia ties it up on a sacrifice fly from Urshela. Trout did everything he could to get the throw in in time, but Mercado scores to make it 1-1.

11:11 p.m. -- Ramírez grounds out to second for the 4-3 putaway and advances Mercado to third. That brings up Urshela, still looking for his first hit.

11:09 p.m. -- Goldschmidt has been an impossible out this WBC, and he draws another walk. Arenado, however, pops out to get Colombia out of the inning. Kelly is back out with 40 pitches, and he gives up a leadoff double to Mercado.

11 p.m. -- Betts advanced on a wild pitch and Trout goes the other way to drive Betts in. This is the most effective the USA top of the order has looked all WBC, and it's coming at a great time.

10:57 p.m. -- Betts puts a good swing on and goes the other way for a base hit to bring up Trout, who tripled in the first. He's looking to give USA a bit of two-out momentum here against Florez, who is at 21 pitches.

10:55 p.m. -- Betts yanked Florez's pitch inside and had home run distance but it went foul. The count is now full with two outs.

10:54 p.m. -- Will Smith goes down swinging at the hands of Florez to start the inning for the United States, and Trea Turner nearly took one to the head to work the count to 2-0. He drove the next pitch into left, but Marriaga makes a great sliding catch to scoop one off the grass for the second out.

10:48 p.m. -- Big-time pitching here from Kelly, as he induces a groundout to Goldschmidt to get out of the inning and hold Colombia scoreless after a big threat.

10:45 p.m. -- Shades of Brady Singer's outing from Kelly, who is having some control issues. The United States is hoping this one plays out differently, as his 2-2 pitch to Pertuz draws a popout to first for the second out.

10:44 p.m. -- Marriaga is walked on by Kelly, so it's bases loaded and one out. Kelly is DeRosa is going to stick with Kelly on the mound. Fabian Pertuz is up now looking to Colombia an early lead.

10:40 p.m. -- Back here in the bottom of the second inning, Colombia has two on with one out and Kelly trying to work up with it. Jesus Marriaga is up for his third WBC at-bat, and it's a consequential one.

10:20 p.m. -- Urshela looked like he might have had his first hit of the WBC with a ground ball up the middle, but a well-positioned Tim Anderson stabs it backhanded and tosses him out at first. Quick inning for Kelly, who came back from 3-0 down against Urshela.

10:17 p.m. -- Merrill Kelly gets Mercado first pitch swinging to fly out to Trout in center, and three pitches later Ramírez flies out to Trout as well. Urshela is up trying to keep the inning alive for Colombia.

10:14 p.m. -- What a play by Colombia! Arenado gets a taste of his own medicine as a well-hit ball down the third-base line is picked and turned around the horn for a 5-4-3 double play. Clutch play by Colombia to get out of the inning unscathed.

10:13 p.m. -- Goldschmidt draws a walk after getting ahead 3-1 against De Avila, bringing up his Cardinals teammate Nolan Arenado with runners at the corners and one out.

10:12 p.m. -- Trout finds the alley the other way and it takes a bounce allowing him to get to third on a one-out triple! Trout gets into third standings, and Paul Goldschmidt has a golden RBI opportunity here in the first.

10:09 p.m. -- Betts puts a good swing on the second pitch of the game, but it's directly to left for the first out of the inning. One out on good contact. Mike Trout steps up next against De Avila.

10:04 p.m. -- First pitch is on the other side of the break! The winner of this game is very likely to go on to play Venezuela, barring some crazy circumstances that could give Canada a chance.

9:50 p.m. -- Team USA brought out some big bats for this game, with Arenado-Alonso-Schwarber making up the 4-5-6 part of the order. Colombia, meanwhile, is hoping Gio Urshela and Jorge Alfaro can get their bats going to set up the hot Reynaldo Rodriguez in the five-hole.

9:30 p.m. -- The United States have effectively found themselves in a win or go home scenario against Colombia here in the World Baseball Classic. Will they join Mexico in Miami out of Group C? Hitting coach Ken Griffey Jr. is locked in for the job at hand in Chase Field.

USA vs. Colombia start time

  • Start time: 10 p.m. ET

Colombia and the United States will begin at 10 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. local time in Arizona.

They'll be playing at Chase Field, home of MLB's Diamondbacks.

How to watch USA vs. Colombia in World Baseball Classic

  • TV channel: FS1
  • Live stream: FoxSports.com, fuboTV

The Fox family of networks is televising the World Baseball Classic, and the United States will be on FS1 for this game. 

The game can be streamed via FoxSports.com or fuboTV, which offers a free trial.

Kevin Skiver

Kevin Skiver Photo

Kevin Skiver has been a content producer at Sporting News since 2021. He previously worked at CBS Sports as a trending topics writer, and now writes various pieces on MLB, the NFL, the NBA, and college sports. He enjoys hiking and eating, not necessarily in that order.