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Aaron Judge wasted no time clubbing his first World Baseball Classic homer.
Judge, the Team USA captain, hit a first-inning two-run home run, while Brice Turang had three hits and four RBI to lead Team USA to a whopping win over Brazil in its World Baseball Classic opener Friday night.
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Cal Raleigh #29, Byron Buxton #25, and Roman Anthony #3 of the United States celebrate after scoring from an RBI double hit by Brice Turang #13 of the United States in the fifth inning against Brazil during the 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool B game between the United States and Brazil at Daikin Park on March 6, 2026, in Houston, Texas. (Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)
There was one out and one on in the first when Judge, the first player to commit to the team last April, connected off Bo Takahashi at Houston’s Daikin Park.
Lucas Ramirez homered twice for Brazil with his father, 12-time All-Star Manny Ramirez, in attendance. He cut the lead to 2-1 with his leadoff homer, and his solo shot in the eighth got Brazil within 8-5.
Aaron Judge #99 of the United States celebrates after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning against Brazil during the 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool B game between the United States and Brazil at Daikin Park on March 6, 2026, in Houston, Texas. (Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)
At 20 years, 49 days, he became the youngest player in WBC history with a multi-homer game.
Byron Buxton was hit by a pitch in the fifth to push the Americans’ lead to 4-1. Turang cleared the bases with his double to left field two pitches later to make it 7-1.
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Brice Turang #13 of Team USA hits a three-run double in the fifth inning during the 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool B game presented by Capital One between Team USA and Team Brazil at Daikin Park on Friday, March 6, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Rob Tringali/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Brazil is in the WBC for just the second time and first since 2013. The team fell to 0-4 all-time in the tournament after losing to Japan, Cuba and China in 2013.
Another highlight for Brazil came when 17-year-old high school senior Joseph Contreras got Judge to ground into a bases-loaded double play to end the second inning. Contreras, the youngest player in the WBC this year, is the son of pitcher José Contreras, who played 11 MLB seasons.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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