HOUSTON -- Team Mexico would like to shake off any memories of what happened the last time it played in the World Baseball Classic, if not erase them completely.
On Friday, Mexico took one very big necessary first step toward creating a new narrative, topping Great Britain, 8-2, in game one of Pool B play at Daikin Park in Houston.
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The win marked the first time Mexico, which has participated in all six WBCs, has won the first game of the tournament. And it did so in front of a boisterous crowd of 29,724, most of whom were rooting for the team that ended up prevailing.
“They were into it the whole time," manager Benji Gil said. "The game was tight for eight innings and the Mexican fans’ energy never wavered. And neither did that of our players.
“And I’m really happy to get off on the right foot, that had eluded us in all the past Classics.”
The game was tied, 1-1, until the eighth inning, when Team Mexico first baseman Jonathan Aranda walloped a 346-foot three-run homer off a 96.8 mph fastball from Tristan Beck, scoring Jarren Duran and Randy Arozarena, who each drew a walk off Gary Gill Hill.
Though Mexico tacked on four more runs in the ninth, Aranda’s homer was the turning point of a game that was close until the end. Aranda later said that he didn’t know if the ball had traveled far enough; he just started running hard, and then realized it was gone when he heard the “toot toot” of the train’s horn in the outfield, signaling a home run.
“I never ran this fast after a home run, ever,” Aranda said. “It was a very [significant] home run, because we were tied and then that at-bat gave positivity for the team, and I was so happy for the team.
“Not just the team, but for the country. We are playing for these colors, and I’m very happy for that.”
Perhaps it's fitting that Aranda, the 27-year-old Rays first baseman who was part of Team Mexico in 2023, is coming off his best Major League season. He batted .315 with 14 homers for Tampa Bay in 2025 and was an All-Star – all of which comes as no surprise to his WBC manager.
“Last year, at the All-Star break, he was one of the top 10 hitters in all of baseball, doesn't matter where they're from or what position,” Gil said. “And you can see the quality of his at-bats. He is an All-Star … I think he is a perennial All-Star. I think he is going to end up being an MVP-type candidate hitter.”
Though the round robin tournament is just getting started, Mexico has put itself in a good position to advance with this win. Mexico will be the favorites in its next game, against Brazil at Daikin Park on Sunday night at 8 ET on FS1.
There’s a long way to go in the tournament before anyone can start screaming victory, but this was a big first step for Mexico, which lost in the 2023 semifinals to eventual champion Japan.
Great Britain was hoping to play spoiler, and for a good chunk of the game, had a chance to pull it off. Harry Ford, the Nationals catcher and hero of Great Britain’s WBC run in 2023, tied the game in the sixth with a solo homer off Alex Carrillo that traveled 361 feet to left field.
“Any time that you are kind of fighting for momentum and that happens, right, obviously that's a big, big shift in momentum there,” Great Britain manager Brad Marcelino said.
Great Britain had plenty of chances to score. The team stranded six baserunners in the first six innings, and nine total.
“It's definitely an area where we know we need to be better against a team like that,” Marcelino said. “You have to cash in on the situations when you have that type of traffic. Traffic was great. I thought our guys battled. We were putting the ball in play, grinding out at-bats, tough at-bats. We just didn't kind of scratch out some of those runs.”
Great Britain’s next game takes place Saturday against Team USA, starting at 8 ET on FOX.
Mexico’s Nacho Alvarez Jr. accounted for the only run of the game by either team through the first five innings. His 394-foot solo homer off a 97.1 mph fastball from Jack Anderson in the second inning gave Mexico the early lead, one that would hold until “Sir Harry” added his solo shot in the sixth.