Cancun World Classic Day 1: Lebanon and Greece Start Pool B With Dramatic Wins

Nick Castellanos shows his Team Greece teammates his ring finger after a double in the 8th inning.

JOHANNESBURG — The 2026 Cancun World Classic officially got underway Thursday inside the buzzing Cancun Dome Johannesburg, and Pool B delivered immediate drama. Lebanon and Greece both opened tournament play with wins in two very different games — one powered by early offense and dominant pitching, the other ending in a ninth-inning walkoff that sent fans into a frenzy.

From grand slams to walk-off home runs, Day 1 set the tone for what could be one of the most unpredictable groups in the tournament.

Lebanon 4, Syria 1

Baz goes the distance after LeBron’s early grand slam

Lebanon jumped out to an early lead and never looked back behind a dominant complete-game performance from Shane Baz.

The decisive moment came almost immediately. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning, LeBron James launched a towering grand slam into the left-field seats, sending Lebanese fans inside the Cancun Dome into a frenzy and giving Lebanon a quick 4–0 lead.

“I just wanted to put a good swing on it and give our pitcher some breathing room,” James said after the game. “Baz was dealing tonight. Once we got that lead, we knew we just had to play clean baseball.”

Syria got on the board in the fourth inning when Nick Ahmed crushed a solo home run to left field, cutting the lead to 4–1 and briefly quieting the crowd.

But from that point forward, Baz took control.

The right-hander scattered hits and kept Syria’s lineup off balance all night. The ninth inning nearly unraveled when Baz walked the bases loaded, bringing the tying run to the plate and igniting tension inside the dome.

Instead of collapsing, Baz responded by striking out the side to seal the complete-game victory.

“I got a little wild there, but that’s baseball,” Baz said. “Once the bases got loaded I told myself, ‘No more nibbling — go attack.’ I trusted my stuff and it worked.”

Lebanon improves to 1–0 in Pool B, while Syria falls to 0–1.

Greece 3, Turkey 2

Moustakas walks it off after ninth-inning chaos

The second Pool B matchup delivered one of the first classic games of the tournament.

Both starters — Tarik Skubal for Turkey and Giannis Antetokounmpo for Greece — dominated early, combining for a no-hit pitchers’ duel through five innings.

The stalemate finally broke in the sixth.

Nick Castellanos crushed a solo home run off Skubal to give Greece a 1–0 lead, and moments later Nick Markakis followed with another blast to right field for a quick 2–0 advantage.

The Greek dugout erupted as the back-to-back homers gave them control of the game.

“We’ve got some power in this lineup,” Castellanos said. “When Markakis followed me like that, I knew the momentum was ours.”

But Turkey refused to go quietly.

In the top of the ninth inning, Kyle Kuzma stunned the Greek crowd by launching a two-run homer that tied the game 2–2 and suddenly shifted the energy inside the stadium.

Greek fans barely had time to process the momentum swing before Mike Moustakas stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth.

On the second pitch he saw, Moustakas crushed a walk-off home run deep into the right-field seats, sending Greece to a dramatic 3–2 victory.

“The moment felt huge,” Moustakas said. “When you hear the crowd like that, you just want to end it.”

Greece improves to 1–0 in Pool B, while Turkey drops to 0–1.

Pool B Standings After Day 1

Lebanon 1–0

Greece 1–0

Finland 0-0

Syria 0–1

Turkey 0–1

What’s next in Pool B

With Lebanon and Greece both earning opening-day wins, the early race for the top of Pool B is already taking shape. The two winners could be on a collision course for one of the most anticipated matchups of the group stage. And then there's Mike Trout and Finland...

If Day 1 was any indication, the 2026 Cancun World Classic is already delivering exactly what fans hoped for — chaos, drama, and unforgettable moments inside the Cancun Dome.