Baseball may have been invented in the United States of America. The first known baseball game was played on June 19, 1846, in New Jersey, pitting the New York Mutuals against the Knickerbockers, with the Mutuals winning the four-inning contest 23-1. The game was very different back then.
Now, 180 years later, the United States struggles to come out on top in the de facto world championship of baseball, the World Baseball Classic. A powerful, at least on paper, Team USA opens its campaign with a warm-up exhibition game Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants. The game will be the first test for Team USA, which has won the WBC only once out of the five tournaments that have been held since 2006.
In fact, Team USA has made it past the quarterfinals only three times, getting to the finals twice, beating Puerto Rico for the championship in 2017, but losing to three-time champions Japan in the most recent WBC in 2023.
The 2026 Team USA features such stars as three-time American League MVP Aaron Judge, 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes, last year’s No. 1 prospect in baseball Roman Anthony, and AL All-Star catcher Cal Raleigh, who belted 60 home runs in 2025.
Will the supercharged roster be enough to get past Samurai Japan, the team that has dominated the tournament since its inception in 2006? Tuesday’s game against the Giants will give the first indication, and it will be nationally televised so fans all over the country can judge for themselves.
What Are The Starting Lineups For Team USA and the Giants?
As of Monday night, starting lineups had not been announced for either team. Check back on this page before game time Tuesday for the final lineups. The selections will come from the following players:
Team USA
Roman Anthony (Boston Red Sox) RF
Alex Bregman (Chicago Cubs) 3B
Byron Buxton (Minnesota Twins) CF
Ernie Clement (Toronto Blue Jays) 3B
Pete Crow-Armstrong (Chicago Cubs) CF
Paul Goldschmidt (New York Yankees) 1B
Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies) 1B
Gunnar Henderson (Baltimore Orioles) SS
Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) RF
Cal Raleigh (Seattle Mariners) C
Kyle Schwarber (Philadelphia Phillies) LF
Will Smith (Los Angeles Dodgers) C
Brice Turang (Milwaukee Brewers) 2B
Bobby Witt Jr. (Kansas City Royals) SS
San Francisco Giants
Willy Adames SS
Luis Arraez IF
Harrison Bader LF
Patrick Bailey C
Will Brennan RF
Matt Chapman 3B
Rafael Devers DH
Bryce Eldridge 1B
Jeurys Encarnacion RF
Tyler Fitzgerald 2B
Drew Gilbert CF
Christian Koss 2B
Jung Hoo Lee CF
Luis Matos RF
Grant McCray CF
Heliot Ramos LF
Jesus Rodriguez C
Casey Schmitt 3B
Daniel Susac C
Who are the Starting Pitchers For Team USA vs. San Francisco Giants?
Getting the start for Team USA will be Skenes, last season’s MLB ERA leader at 1.96 after registering a 1.96 ERA in his rookie year.
The Giants will send right-hander Blade Tidwell, ranked as the No. 16 overall prospect in the Giants system by Baseball America.
What Time is the Game? What TV Channel Carries It?
The Team USA vs. San Francisco Giants World Baseball Classic exhibition game is scheduled to get underway at 1:05 p.m. MT, 3:05 p.m. ET, and 12:05 p.m. PT at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Arizona. The game will be broadcast by ESPN, with a live stream available via the paid subscription ESPN app.
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