For the third time in less than a month, the United States and Canada are set to meet on the world stage. This time, the spotlight shifts to Houston on Friday night for a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal clash. Ahead of the big night, Jack Hughes, who recently had a gold medal-winning game against Canada (2-1 in the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics men’s ice hockey final), sent a message to the squad to fire them up.

“Jack Hughes sent the boys a nice little fire-up message that I put out on their group chat,” Mark DeRosa said.

Hughes, a die-hard Yankees fan, sent this message only weeks after he scored the overtime goal (1:41 into overtime). The rivalry is back, this time on the baseball field.

The two teams are set to face each other in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic on Friday night.

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Reportedly, MLB’s communications staff reached out to the Devils before WBC training camp to check in on whether Hughes would be able to send a message of encouragement to captain Aaron Judge and the U.S. team.

In response, Hughes recorded a short hype video in the Devils’ locker room and asked that it be kept private between him and the WBC players.

USA Hockey’s men’s and women’s gold medals (2-1 in overtime) at the Winter Games seem to have truly served as inspiration for Team USA on the diamond during the WBC.

“The boys were so fired up. We sent so many pictures of Hughes in the group chat,” Judge told The Pat McAfee Show earlier this month. “Now we get a chance to throw on the red, white, and blue and copy what they did. That was a special run on both sides, men and women.”

In fact, during the media appearance, DeRosa also mentioned that hockey jerseys from that Olympic run might arrive for the team to wear during batting practice or around the clubhouse.

“I know there’s talk of some hockey jerseys being sent in tomorrow for the guys to wear during [batting practice] or around the clubhouse.”

But DeRosa knows a pep talk might still not be enough to get over Canada in the quarterfinals.

Team USA is revamping its pitching lineup before the quarterfinals

After losing to Team Italy 8-6, the USA’s QF run was in question. But after the Azzurris suffocated Mexico to a 9-1 loss, the Stars and Stripes advanced to the next stage as the Pool B runner-up with a 3-1 record. Now, history is on Team USA’s side as they face Canada in the quarterfinals.

Team USA and Canada faced each other 4 times, and Team USA won 3 of them. Even their last face-off was Team USA winning 12-1. But after their run against Italy, it might not be that easy.

Italy’s win against Aaron Judge and Co was the biggest in the nation’s baseball history.

Even Team USA manager Mark DeRosa might know the challenge. They are reportedly altering their pitching staff before the game!

Tarik Skubal already left the WBC camp for the Tigers, and so did Michael Wacha and Ryan Yarbrough. Now, Will Vest, Tyler Rogers, and Tim Hill have been added to the rotation. With Rogers’ distinctive submarine delivery, it could be effective in disrupting the hitter’s timing. He had a 1.98 ERA with 48 SOs last year, which could bring hope for Team USA.

Hill could be a good option against Canadian sluggers like Josh Naylor and Owen Caissie. With both being left-handed hitters and Hill being able to keep the lefties to a restrictive .181/.224/.220 slash line in the 2025 regular season, he is considered an upside in terms of a reliever. He often utilizes a low three-quarter sidearm slot to induce ground balls, causing these hitters to struggle with pitch break.

Impeccable performance from the USA rotation is critical because Team Canada’s pitching staff owns a 1.50 ERA, the second-best in the Classic (behind Puerto Rico).

DeRosa is staying grounded even though history is on his side. With the ongoing WBC, it is no longer immune to upsets. Let’s see if Hughes’ pep talk comes in handy.