USA vs. Great Britain final score, results: Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado lead Americans to opening victory

Kevin Skiver

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USA vs. Great Britain final score, results: Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado lead Americans to opening victory image

The United States entered the World Baseball Classic as one of the favorites, but its first game, Saturday against Great Britain, may be considered a slightly humbling experience.

Team USA won 6-2, but it didn't feel like the dominant performance many expected with a lineup that is composed of some of MLB's biggest stars. Cardinals teammates Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado lived up to the hype, but they were exceptions.

The game started inauspiciously for the Americans. Dodgers outfielder Trayce Thompson homered off starter Adam Wainwright in the first inning for a 1-0 GB lead, and Great Britain starter Vance Worley held the offense scoreless for the first two frames. In the third, however, the United States finally mustered some momentum, with Arenado driving in Goldschmidt from first with a double.

Kyle Schwarber gave Team USA breathing room in the next inning with a three-run homer toward the right-field pool at Chase Field, putting the United States up 5-1.

That homer would be the early nail in the coffin. The second half of the game passed without much incident. D'Shawn Knowles gave Great Britain a spark with a triple off Kyle Freeland in the eighth inning. He later scored on a groundout for the game's final score. Freeland was otherwise clean in his three innings for Team USA. David Bednar was overpowering as he got the final three outs.

Ultimately, the win had two defining moments, but USA manager Mark DeRosa will be looking for consistency up and down his batting order.

The Americans' next game will be Sunday night against Mexico, which needs a win after losing to Colombia in 10 innings in Saturday's opening game. Padres right-hander Nick Martinez will get the start. Great Britain will play Canada on Sunday afternoon. Canada will be playing its first game of the 2023 WBC.

The Sporting News provided live scoring updates and highlights of USA vs. Great Britain, the opening game of pool play for both teams. (All times Eastern.)

MORE: Watch the World Baseball Classic live with fuboTV (free trial)

USA vs. Great Britain score

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 F
Great Britain 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
USA 0 0 2 3 0 1 0 0 x 6

USA vs. Great Britain live updates, highlights from World Baseball Classic

12:03 p.m. -- Bednar gets Knowles swinging with a fastball and buttons up a 6-2 win for Team USA in its World Baseball Classic 2023 debut. It will now play Mexico on Sunday night.

12:01 p.m. -- Bednar gets Sweeney swinging on some high heat. That brings up D'Shawn Knowles, who tripled and sipped some tea his last time up. He's responsible for Great Britain's second run tonight.

12 a.m. -- Ward fists one up the middle toward McNeil, who bobbles it. Ward reaches with an infield single. That will bring up Sweeney, who already has a hit, looking to spark a rally.

11:58 p.m. -- Bednar is really pounding the first two batters inside, and they seem overwhelmed. He quickly has Ward down 0-2.

11:57 p.m. -- Pirates closer David Bednar takes the mound and strikes out Chavez Young in short order.

11:54 p.m. -- Turner grounds into the 5-4 fielder's choice and Petersen is out of the inning. Three outs left for Great Britain.

11:53 p.m. -- Petersen loses Schwarber and walks him. Turner comes up with two down and a runner on.

11:50 p.m. -- Petersen now gets Arenado on three pitches, ending with a 100 mph fastball above the zone that Arenado chased. Kind of a crazy outing for him.

11:49 p.m. -- Petersen just touched 100 mph pitching to Goldschmidt, who seemed stunned. He gets him to pop out to third for the first out of the inning.

11:47 p.m. -- Cooper's night is over, and it will be Michael Petersen on the mound for Great Britain against Goldschmidt, Arenado and Schwarber.

11:44 -- Freeland gets the next two batters in quick succession, a flyout by Wylie and three straight takes from Ford for a K.

11:42 p.m. -- Thompson makes good contact to the wrong part of the park, as he flies out to the warning track and Trout in dead center. That's one down for Freeland, who's only at 24 pitches through 2 1/3 innings of work.

11:41 p.m. -- Freeland is back out for another inning. He'll face Thompson, who has been the best bat in the Great Britain order.

11:39 p.m. -- Trout gets a pitch to hit but it just gets in on the hands. He flies out to Thompson in center and the inning ends quietly following the leadoff baserunner.

11:37 p.m. -- Cooper and Trout have battled it out this at-bat, and the count is now full. Trout has taken some big swings throughout this game, but he still doesn't have a hit yet.

11:33 p.m. -- Betts looked frustrated with himself after that swing, as he skies it to center for a shallow flyout. Trout will come up with two out and a runner on second as Cooper tries to get through another inning for Great Britain.

11:32 p.m. -- McNeil works the count full and the USA wisely sends Realmuto on the pitch. It prevents a double play as he gets to second and McNeil gets thrown out. Betts now steps up with a runner on second and one out.

11:29 p.m. -- Realmuto shows how speed can pressure an infield. He legs out a chopper to Murray, whose throw pulls the Great Britain first baseman off the bag. McNeil comes up with no outs.

11:28 p.m. -- Realmuto will lead off against Cooper, followed by McNeil before the order turns back over to Betts.

11:25 p.m. -- Great Britain plates one, but Freeland gets out of the inning with a three-pitch strikeout of Murray.

11:24 p.m. -- Both Cardinals corners flash the leather. Arenado snagged a ball down the line at third and then short-hopped the throw to first, which Goldschmidt neatly snagged. These two have by far been the MVPs of this game. Knowles does score on the play, though. USA 6, Great Britain 2.

11:22 p.m. -- We finally see Great Britain's speed on display. Knowles pinch hits for Rudd and puts one into the right field corner. He put on the burners to get to third and potentially spark a Great Britain rally. He hits a little sipping-tea celebration as well.

11:19 p.m. -- Freeland is still on the mound, and he gets Sweeney swinging to start the inning. The Rockies southpaw will now face Rudd and Seymour before the order turns over.

11:16 p.m. -- Tucker flies out to Chavez in right to end the inning. USA leads 6-1 after six.

11:14 p.m. -- Turner now goes down swinging on a pitch off the plate, bringing up Kyle Tucker with two outs.

11:12 p.m. -- After struggling with the carom in the corner on Arenado's double, Rudd makes up for it with a nice sliding catch on a sinking liner off the bat of Schwarber. Arenado holds at second, and Turner comes up with one out.

11:10 p.m. -- Goldschmidt gets things started with a hard-hit single between short and third, bringing Arenado up with one on and no one out. Goldy has been on base three times. He immediately gets plated for a third time with an Arenado double into the corner. USA 6, Great Britain 1.

11:08 p.m. -- Cooper takes the mound for Great Britain, and he'll take on the most problematic part of this order so far: Goldschmidt-Arenado-Schwarber.

11:06 p.m. -- Freeland gets Ford to fly out to Betts in right to end the inning.

11:04 p.m. -- Kyle Freeland is on the mound now, and Chavez Young gets on after two quick outs, including a great stab and throw from Arenado. Harry Ford comes up for Great Britain.

11 p.m. -- After a long at-bat, Long gets Trout to swing through another pitch for his second strikeout of the game. Great Britain remains in striking distance, but it needs to get to work.

10:54 p.m. -- CENTER FIELDER TAKES CHARGE. Someone should remind Rudd of that in left as Thompson cuts him off to make a catch on McNeil's fly ball for the second out. That brings Betts up with two out and nobody on, and he gets aggressive and grounds one up the middle for his first hit of the Classic.

10:52 p.m. -- Realmuto taps one to first off the end of the bat for the first out of the inning, bringing up McNeil against Long.

10:49 p.m. -- Thompson breaks his bat and lines out to Turner at short to end the inning.

10:47 p.m. -- Murray flies out to left center for the second out, bringing up Thompson, who is already 2 for 2. He'll look to bring the Great Britain bats back to life.

10:45 p.m. -- Jason Adam now takes the mound for the United States, and he'll start against Anfernee Seymour who flies out to Betts in right for the first out.

10:42 p.m. -- Tucker makes good contact to right but he flies out to end the inning, but not before Schwarber does damage with his three-run shot.

10:39 p.m. -- Turner now gets on with a single and brings up Kyle Tucker with two outs, looking to spark another rally with a more comfortable lead.

10:36 p.m. -- As the fan said, a Schwarbomb comes. Nearly all of the signs were pointing that way, with the announcers saying he was eyeing the pool in right. Schwarber drives in three off a hanging changeup to give the United States some breathing room. USA 5, Great Britain 1.

10:34 p.m. -- Ryan Long is on the mound for Great Britain, and he gets Arenado to pop out to third via infield fly after falling behind 2-0. Schwarber is up in the five-hole with two out and runners on first and second.

10:30 p.m. -- Esch's night ends as he hits Goldschmidt to bring up Arenado with two on.

10:28 p.m. -- Trout swipes second with a terrific jump on Esch. So for the second inning in a row a runner advances into scoring position with one out.

10:26 p.m. -- Betts grounds out to second to start this inning for the United States. Trout then walks in four pitches to bring up Goldschmidt, who got things started last inning.

10:22 p.m. -- Wainwright gets Rudd to bounce to second and we get an NL East turn with McNeil flipping to Turner, who complete the double play to get out of the inning. Wainwright could come out for the fifth if Mark DeRosa sees fit.

10:21 p.m. -- Good swing by Sweeney as he catches one off the end of the bat for a hit, bringing up Jaden Rudd with one out and a runner on first.

10:20 p.m. -- Wainwright is back out for the fourth at 43 pitches, and he gets Ward to ground out in the third pitch of the at-bat. He remains efficient sans the home run. Sweeney is up next.

10:17 p.m. -- Esch gets McNeil to fly out to left to end the inning and strand three. Necessary inning there for the United States as they not only get on the board but also take the lead.

10:16 p.m. -- Realmuto walks for the United States, loading the bases for the No. 9 hitter McNeil. This is the biggest batter in this early game so far.

10:13 p.m. -- Tucker laces one up middle and beats the shift to drive in Arenado and give the United States the lead. Just a straight up miss by Sweeney due to some weird spin. USA has its first lead. USA 2, GBR 1

10:11 p.m. -- Jake Esch is now on the mound for Great Britain, and he'll immediately see the Astros' Kyle Tucker with runners at the corners and two outs. Potentially big AB here.

10:08 p.m. -- Turner has worked the count full with Arenado still looming on third. He sparks the crowd with a rocket down the line but it goes foul. Worley is about to throw his 60th pitch, so his limit is encroaching. Turner draws a walk and that'll be it for Worley.

10:05 p.m. -- Arenado gets the United States on the board with a scorcher down the line to plate Goldschmidt. Schwarber flies out to center on his next at-bat and Arenado advances to second. Big turnaround here for the United States to tie things up.

10:04 p.m. -- Goldschmidt now advances on a wild pitch from Worley to get into scoring position. Still one down.

10:03 p.m. -- Goldschmidt successfully reaches on the next pitch as Great Britain misses on a throw to first and the tag just misses. Arenado will dig in with one down.

10:02 p.m. -- Worley continues his strong outing, getting Trout to fly out on a deep fly to left. That's the second ball someone's gotten a hold of that's come up just short of the fence. Goldschmidt-Arenado will be up next for the United States.

9:59 p.m. -- Young flies out to center to ends the threat, and Wainwright has gotten through three innings with just the home run to his name. Now it falls on the USA bats to get things going here in the bottom of the frame.

9:57 p.m. -- Wainwright gets Ford to ground out to third, and Thompson holds at third for the second out. The inning will now ride on Chavez Young once again.

9:54 p.m. -- Thompson starts the inning off with a double down the left field line, adding on to his homer earlier. He advances to third on a flyout, testing the arm of Betts in right.

9:51 p.m. -- Worley gets Betts to foul out to end the inning unscathed once again. As a reminder, the limit for Worley is 65 pitches.

9:47 p.m. -- Realmuto gets on with a double for the United States, and Jeff McNeil is up next. Worley is about to throw his 40th pitch in his second inning, with Betts looming in the on-deck circle. McNeil grounds out to second for the second out, advancing Realmuto and bringing Betts up.

9:43 p.m. -- Tucker skies one to right-center for the first out of the inning, drawing up Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto.

9:42 p.m. -- Wainwright gets out of the inning, and the United States will begin Kyle Tucker.

9:38 p.m. -- After getting the first two batters, Wainwright has found himself in some unexpected stress as the next two reach. That'll bring up Murray as the order turns over.

9:31 p.m. -- Turner chops out and, despite facing six batters, Worley gets out of the inning unscathed.

9:29 p.m. -- Schwarber has again worked the count full for the USA, so Worley is making some high-leverage pitches early here. He walks Schwarber on, which brings up new Philly Trea Turner.

9:26 p.m. -- Arenado legs out a chopper up the middle to keep the inning alive as the throw from Nicke Ward came just a hair late. The United States stays alive with two on and two out and Kyle Schwarber coming up to the plate.

9:23 p.m. -- Goldschmidt gets on with a walk, and that brings up Nolan Arenado, the other superstar Cardinal bat in this USA lineup.

9:20 p.m. -- That's something to write home about for Worley. he gets Trout swinging on a ball over the plate after being down 3-1. Great job to battle back, and the 2022 NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt is up next.

9:18 p.m. -- Mookie Betts jumps on an early Worley pitch and, despite a jolt in the crowd, he flies out to the warning track. That brings up Trout for his first WBC at-bat.

9:15 p.m. -- Young pops out behind second to end the inning, but Wainwright doesn't come out unscathed. Strong start for Great Britain to start out its tournament. USA is up next with Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, and Paul Goldschmidt.

9:13 p.m. -- Koperniak gets on with a walk following Thompson. This was the exact start the heavy underdog Great Britain needed. Wainwright does get Ford swinging in the next at-bat, so the inning will now fall on Chavez Young.

9:10 p.m. -- Thompson makes an IMMEDIATE impact with a first-pitch home run to left! He smoked that pitch from Wainwright to give Great Britain a 1-0 lead, and he is bestowed with a crown as he gets back to the dugout. Great Britain 1, USA 0.

9:09 p.m. -- Wainwright makes quick work of Murray with a swing and a miss on a 1-2 bender. Strong start for the longtime Cardinal, as Trayce Thompson digs in for Great Britain.

9:08 p.m. -- America will be wearing its white "home" jerseys and Great Britain has its gray "road" ones. First pitch comes from Wainwright for a ball high and outside.

8:52 p.m. --  Here's a look at the USA and Great Britain lineups, with Mookie Betts occupying his traditional leadoff spot. Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright is on the mount for the USA. Vance Worley will be pitching for Great Britain.

8:50 p.m. -- Welcome to USA vs. Great Britain as Pool C play continues! Colombia has already registered a huge upset over Mexico in extra innings in the first game in Arizona, so both countries will look to keep pace here.

USA vs. Great Britain start time

  • Start time: 9 p.m. ET

Great Britain and the United States will begin at 9 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. local time in Arizona.

They'll be playing at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, for the duration of pool play.

How to watch USA vs. Great Britain in World Baseball Classic

  • TV channel: Fox
  • Live stream: Fox Sports Go, fuboTV

The Fox family of networks are hosting the World Baseball Classic, and the United States will begin on the flagship station.

As this is the USA debut, Fox is airing USA vs. Great Britain on its main channel.

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.