​This was supposed to be the biggest mismatch of the World Baseball Classic, a team composed primarily of non-affiliated baseball players facing the most decorated roster in the competition’s history. Instead, Brazil gave the best USA team ever assembled everything that it could handle through the first eight innings of its first game of the tournament Friday night in Houston. The end result was ultimately a blowout in favor of the favorites, but it was a three-run game after eight innings and far from the cakewalk many expected. Here are my takeaways: 1. With Lucas Being Manny, Brazil Doesn't Back Down Brazil doesn’t have any active MLB players on the roster, but it does have the son of 12-time All-Star Manny Ramirez. And on Friday, Lucas Ramirez looked a lot like a left-handed version of his dad. The 20-year-old Angels prospect, who was drafted in the 17th round in 2024, wasn’t intimidated facing two-time All-Star Logan Webb to begin the night. Ramirez pulled Webb’s second pitch of the game, a four-seamer at the bottom of the zone, 104.1 mph off the bat and over the right-field wall. Seven innings later, Ramirez — who hit just three home runs in 60 minor-league games last season — added his second home run when he lifted a solo shot off reliever Gabe Speier, who surrendered just three home runs and seven extra-base hits to left-handed hitters all of last season. It’s been quite the week for Ramirez, who two days ago also went deep off Jacob deGrom in an exhibition against the Texas Rangers. Ramirez played an important role in getting Brazil to the tournament, having gone 5-for-13 in the qualifiers, and again starred on Friday night. Webb rebounded from the early homer to retire each of the next 12 batters he faced, including six via strikeout, in a four-inning start. As a team, the U.S. pitching staff retired 15 straight batters after the Ramirez home run. The streak ended with a Gabriel Carmo single off Michael Wacha to start the sixth, at which point the U.S. offense had built a comfortable lead. But even after falling behind by six runs, Brazil didn’t lay down. An RBI single by Lucas Rojo and a homer by Victor Mascai off Michael Wacha, plus Ramirez’s late home run, kept the game surprisingly tight for most of the night — close enough that closer Mason Miller had to get warm and pitch the ninth, despite the comfortable advantage after USA’s ninth-inning onslaught. 2. Heckuva Story For High School Pitcher Joseph Contreras Ramirez isn’t the only player on Brazil’s roster with MLB bloodlines. There’s also Dante Bichette Jr. and 17-year-old Joseph Contreras, the son of former All-Star pitcher José Contreras, who’s the youngest player in the tournament. After his noteworthy appearance Friday, Contreras can go back to Blessed Trinity High School in Georgia and tell all his friends at school that he got the reigning American League MVP to ground into an inning-ending double play. Contreras struggled with his control but limited damage, jamming Judge on a grounder to escape a bases-loaded jam in the second inning and ultimately holding the star-studded U.S. roster to just one run in 1.1 innings. Pretty cool for the high school senior and Vanderbilt commit, who has the build of a big-leaguer at 6-foot-4 and is a top-50 draft prospect. Brazil went from the youngest player in the tournament to third-oldest when 40-year-old Tiago Da Silva replaced Contreras in the third inning and fired 1.2 scoreless innings of relief. 3. Aaron Judge's Loud Welcome To The WBC Judge set the tone for Team USA 11 months ago when he was the first player to commit to the team. The U.S. captain, participating in the WBC for the first time, wasted no time getting acclimated to the international stage. With his first swing in his first at-bat of the competition, Judge made former D-backs prospect Bo Takahashi pay for hanging a 3-0 sweeper. The three-time MVP sent the pitch 405 feet to left-center for a two-run home run. "Ton of respect for the other guys in the room," USA manager Mark DeRosa said on the FOX broadcast, "but certainly, it revolves around him." Three batters into the game, USA led 2-0. It seemed like it might just be a matter of time until the mercy rule applied. (First round and quarterfinal round games end if a team leads by at least 15 runs after the fifth or 10 after the seventh). Instead, Judge’s early blast turned out to be more important than it seemed at the time, considering the way Brazil worked around traffic on the bases for most of the night. Eventually, though, the Brazil pitching staff’s 17 walks surrendered came back to bite them in a seven-run USA ninth. 4. Brice Turang Helps USA Break Through Late Brazil had spent the day playing with fire and emerging largely unscathed … until Brice Turang stepped to the plate with one out in the fifth. At the time, the U.S. offense had five hits, eight walks and one hit batter but only four runs. USA finished the night 5-for-21 with runners in scoring position and left 13 runners on base in the win, but Turang broke the game open with a slicing double that Mascai had trouble reading in left. The hit cleared the bases and served as an example of the danger at every portion of the U.S. lineup. Even the players on the U.S. roster primarily for their defense — Turang was the 2024 National League Platinum Glove Award winner — can do damage at the plate. Turang, who’s coming off a 5.6 bWAR season in which he hit 21% better than league average, had three of USA’s 10 hits and led the offense with four RBI. 4 ½. What’s Next For Team USA? USA will have two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal on the mound against Great Britain on Saturday, which lost its opener 8-2 to Mexico. After a day off on Sunday, the USA will have a Monday matchup against Mexico in what should be a raucous atmosphere in Houston. Team USA will close out Pool B play against Italy on Tuesday. Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on X at @RowanKavner. Read More

​Manny Ramirez hit plenty of home runs in his 19-year major league career — 555, to be exact. On Friday night at Daikin Park, the 12-time All-Star relished watching someone else go yard when his son Lucas Ramirez hit a leadoff homer for Brazil against the United States in the World Baseball Classic. Like father, like son. The 20-year-old sent Logan Webb’s second pitch into the seats in right field to cut the Americans' lead to 2-1 after Aaron Judge hit a two-run shot in the top of the inning. "I was looking forward for him to do something special," Manny Ramirez told The Associated Press. "So, he’s been working so hard all year round and I’m proud of him." Lucas Ramirez is playing for Brazil because his mother, Juliana Ramirez, was born and raised in São Paulo. She was at the ballpark Friday night and beamed after her son’s big hit. The younger Ramirez was a 17th-round pick of the Los Angeles Angels in the 2024 draft and he spent last season playing in class A, batting .266 with three homers, 30 RBIs and six stolen bases. He also played for Brazil in the 2026 WBC qualifiers and went 5 for 13. Manny Ramirez, a two-time World Series champion and the 2004 World Series MVP, would have been thrilled to see his son homer against any team, but it made it more special for him to do it against one of the top teams in the tournament. "Oh yeah, they’re No. 1," he said. And he thinks the big hit will give his son a boost for the upcoming season. "It’s going to be more special for him because that’s going to give him — he’s going to be ready for the season," Ramirez said. "I hope he’s going to do good." Lucas Ramirez is wearing the No. 24 his father donned for most of his career in the WBC. And Manny Ramirez is thrilled to see his son succeed. "I’m proud of him," he said. "Thank God for this opportunity that he has." Reporting by The Associated Press. Read More

​Seth Lugo made a successful return to the World Baseball Classic on Friday. Lugo helped Puerto Rico to a 5-0 win over Colombia in their Group A opener. The right-hander pitched four-plus innings of three-hit ball at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. "That was awesome. Every inning you could feel the fans," Lugo said. "Go out there and get the W. It was really special for me, something I won’t forget." Edwin Diaz worked the ninth for Puerto Rico. Tito Polo led off with a pinch-hit single and advanced on a passed ball before Díaz struck out the side. The 31-year-old Díaz missed the 2023 MLB season after he hurt his right knee while celebrating a Puerto Rico victory in the World Baseball Classic. "Unbelievable moment for us to see Sugar coming in from the bullpen and to hear the crowd, not only for him but for his family to be here and that moment for him," Puerto Rico manager Yadier Molina said. "I’m excited for him." The 36-year-old Lugo also played for Puerto Rico in the 2017 WBC. He went 2-1 with a 4.20 ERA in three starts, striking out 12 in 15 innings. The Louisiana native started the 2017 final against the United States. He surrendered four runs and five hits in four-plus innings in an 8-0 loss. Facing Colombia in this year's edition of the international competition, Lugo breezed through the first inning before running into trouble in the second. Colombia put runners on second and third with one out. But Lugo escaped the jam when he retired Carlos Martinez on a flyball to left and struck out Brayan Buelvas swinging. He surrendered two one-out singles in the fourth before Martínez bounced into an inning-ending double play. Lugo was replaced by Rico Garcia after issuing a leadoff walk to Buelvas in the fifth. The Kansas City Royals pitcher got a warm ovation from the crowd of 18,793 as he walked off the mound. "Yeah, that was really cool. I got goosebumps," Lugo said. "I get goosebumps now thinking about it. You come off, and the fans are chanting your name. That doesn’t happen all the time. That’s really, really special." Reporting by The Associated Press. Read More