Mar 11, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; Italy starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) pitches against Mexico in the fifth inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
Aaron Nola either needed to shove or get lit up for Italy against Mexico Wednesday for USA to advance in the World Baseball Classic. He chose the former, as Italy defeated Mexico 9-1, allowing them to advance to the quarterfinals, and also punching the ticket for the United States as well.
Team Italy captain Vinnie Pasquantino — whose day job is playing first base for the Kansas City Royals — was the star of the game, as he became the first player in WBC history to homer three times in a single game.
Nola was dominant across five shutout innings, limiting Mexico to four hits and one walk, while striking out five batters. 45 of his 69 pitches were strikes, a stellar World Baseball Classic Debut for the longest-tenured Phillie.
Former Phillie Dan Plesac was doing color commentary on the FS1 broadcast of the game, and said during a compilation of Nola curveballs that in South Philly Nola is known as "Captain Hook." That's not really true, but perhaps it needs to become a thing:
Y’all were saying about Captain Hook? pic.twitter.com/ctee3N8G33
— Buzz (@dan_wilson4) March 12, 2026
From a bigger-picture sense for the Phillies, Nola's strong start is a very good sign as the former All-Star tries to recover from a career-worst season in 2025 that saw him post a 6.01 ERA over 17 starts last season. A resurgence for Nola would be a massive development in a rotation that's set to include Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo and, at some point, Zack Wheeler.
