Talk about a nail-biter. The United States men’s baseball team punched its ticket to the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals on Wednesday night, but not the way manager Mark DeRosa probably wanted. Instead of clinching it themselves, Team USA had to sit back and watch Italy demolish Mexico 9-1 to secure the Americans’ spot in the next round.

It’s honestly kind of embarrassing when you think about it. The U.S., loaded with All-Stars and supposed to be dominating this tournament, ended up needing help from a team full of Italian-Americans just to avoid elimination. But hey, a win’s a win, right?

Here’s what went down: Italy’s Vinnie Pasquantino, a Kansas City Royals player, absolutely went off against Mexico with three home runs, becoming the first player in WBC history to hit three dingers in a single game. After his masterclass, Pasquantino had a pretty hilarious message for Team USA: “You’re welcome, U.S.A. We were thinking of you guys over at your hotel. We were thinking of you guys. So I’m glad you could join us in the party”.

Ouch. But also fair.

This whole situation happened because Italy beat the U.S. 8-6 the night before, which sent Team USA into a temporary panic. They suddenly became spectators, desperately hoping Italy would take down Mexico to keep them alive. Spoiler alert: Italy delivered.

Now let’s talk about the elephant in the room. After that loss to Italy on Tuesday, DeRosa made some interesting comments on TV, suggesting the U.S. had already clinched a quarterfinal spot based on the schedule. He later said he “misspoke” in that interview, which… okay, sure. But it definitely raised some eyebrows about whether he actually knew what was happening.

The final group standings tell the story: Italy finished 4-0 (undefeated, thank you very much), while the U.S. went 3-1. Mexico was eliminated from the WBC and also lost their shot at qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, which is a huge blow for them.

So what’s next? Team USA stays in Houston to face Canada, who made it past the first round for the first time ever, this Friday night. Italy, meanwhile, gets to play Puerto Rico in their quarterfinal matchup at Daikin Park on Saturday.

The Americans are still in this thing, but they definitely need to step up their game. An All-Star roster should not be needing last-minute saves from other teams. If they want to make a real run at this tournament, they’re going to have to actually show up and dominate when it matters. The quarterfinals start now, and there’s no room for error.