Italian baseball fans will be divided when Philadelphia Phillies ace Aaron Nola and Colorado Rockies potential two-way player Michael Lorenzen go head-to-head at Coors Field in Denver on Friday, April 3, 2026. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 pm (ET) and 10:10 pm in Italy. Both pitchers led Team Italy to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) Semifinals in Miami, Florida.

Team Italy made a promise to players that they would eat and drink well when joining the Azzurri in the WBC. “We had some good parmigiana over there, and some good wine,” Aaron Nola said after returning to Phillies camp. During the 2026 WBC, the 12-year MLB veteran and 2018 NL All-Star went 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA in two starts and earned All-WBC team honors after allowing just eight hits, one run and two walks and striking out eight in nine innings of work. His four-seam fastball averaged 92.8 mph, nearly one mph harder than he averaged in 2025, in the WBC semifinal against Venezuela on March 16, 2026.

Michael Lorenzen threw 4.2 scoreless innings against star-studded USA and picked up the Team Italy win in the stunning 8-6 upset over the heavily-favored Americans on March 10, 2026. The 11-year MLB vet and former Cal State Fullerton two-way baseball all-star allowed only two hits and one walk. He said, “It’s kind of weird throwing against your own country. But it was an incredible night.”

In the postgame press conference, Lorenzen spoke about his faith and overcoming challenges after pitching one of the best games of his life. He said that the victory over USA was only second his MLB no-hitter on August 9, 2023 while teammate to fellow Phillie Aaron Nola. Nola commented that he expected no less than the best from Lorenzen and said, ““It’s just the experience I feel that we’ve had over our careers in figuring out how to get guys out multiple times in multiple different ways.”

May the best pitcher win in their matchup against one another in the Colorado Rockies Home Opener at Coors Field on Friday, April 3rd. As far as Team Italy fans are concerned, both are winners and will forever be etched in stone in Italian baseball history. Forza #Italia!