Arizona Tribune - Judge homers as USA cruise past Brazil in World Baseball Classic

New York Yankees star Judge -- who is captaining the US squad in his maiden appearance in the tournament -- opened the scoring in the first inning at Houston's Daikin Park.

The 33-year-old outfielder crushed a 405-foot shot to center field off Brazilian pitcher Bo Takahashi.

Brazil hit back with a home run of their own in the bottom of the first inning when Lucas Ramirez crushed a four-seam fastball from US starter Logan Webb into right center-field.

Ramirez -- the son of former MLB superstar Manny Ramirez who qualifies to play for the South American minnows through his Brazilian mother -- would go on to slash a second home run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

But that double blast from Ramirez aside, Friday’s Pool B game in Texas exposed the gulf in class between the two squads.

The star-studded US line-up, chasing their first title since 2017, were always in control after Judge’s opening homer.

The Americans tacked on four runs in the fifth inning to open up a 7-1 lead and although Ramirez's second homer in the bottom of the eighth cut the lead to 8-5, a Brazilian pitching meltdown in the ninth inning extinguished any chance of a seismic upset.

Brazil's bullpen coughed up seven runs in the ninth – including three walks and a balk – as the US cruised home.

The US faces Great Britain on Saturday in their second game of the 20-team tournament.

E.Flores--AT