United States designated hitter Kyle Schwarber hits a home run during the fifth inning of a World Baseball Classic game against Britain, Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer and Gunnar Henderson had four hits and two RBIs as the United States rolled to a 9-1 victory over Britain on Saturday night at the World Baseball Classic.

Team USA improved to 2-0 in Pool B at Houston, while Britain dropped to 0-2.

Nate Eaton homered on Tarik Skubal’s first pitch to give Britain a quick lead it held until the fifth inning. But his teammates couldn’t muster anything else at the plate.

U.S. hitters had managed just one single when Ernie Clement reached on an error by third baseman Ivan Johnson to start the fifth. Pete Crow-Armstrong doubled before Clement scored on a wild pitch by Andre Scrubb to tie it at 1.

Schwarber followed with a 427-foot drive that landed near the back of the second deck in right field to put the United States on top 3-1.

There were two outs in the inning when Henderson’s two-run single made it 5-1.

Aaron Judge, who homered in Friday night’s win over Brazil, knocked out a panel in the metal scoreboard with a 109.6 mph RBI single in a three-run sixth that pushed it to 8-1.

Skubal allowed two hits with five strikeouts in three innings. It’s scheduled to be the only start of the tournament for the two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner, who will return to spring training with the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

Britain plays Italy on Sunday. The Americans are off until reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes pitches Monday night against Mexico.

Ohtani homers again and Suzuki hits 2 as Japan beats South Korea 8-6

Shohei Ohtani homered for the second consecutive day, Seiya Suzuki went deep twice and defending champion Japan beat South Korea 8-6 in Tokyo to improve to 2-0 in Pool C.

Suzuki drove in four runs and Masataka Yoshida homered and had three RBIs for the Samurai Warriors, who fell behind 3-0 in the first inning.

A day after hitting a grand slam in a 13-0 win over Taiwan, Ohtani hit a tying home run on a hanging curve from Young Pyo Ko in the third.

Suzuki hit a two-run homer in the second. Two batters after Ohtani’s drive, Suzuki chased Ko by homering for a 4-3 lead. Yoshida homered on reliever Byeong Hyeon Jo’s second pitch.

Hyeseong Kim’s two-run homer against Hiromi Ito tied the score in the fourth for South Korea (1-1).

Suzuki put Japan ahead for good at 6-5 when he drew a bases-loaded walk from Young Kyu Kim in a three-run seventh that included Yoshida’s two-run single.

Ju Won Kim trimmed South Korea’s deficit with an RBI single off Yuki Matsumoto in the eighth before Hyeseong Kim stranded the bases loaded when he struck out against Yuki Matsumoto.

Winning pitcher Atsuki Taneichi struck out the side in the seventh, and Taisei Ota got three straight outs on seven pitches for the save.

Japan and Australia are 2-0 in Group C and meet Sunday as the favorites to advance to the quarterfinals.

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was at the game, a day after Timothée Chalamet and pop singer Bad Bunny attended.