Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith and legendary starter Clayton Kershaw are in danger of WBC elimination with Team USA.

Team USA’s fate is out of their hands following an 8-6 loss to Team Italy on Wednesday — a game in which Kershaw did not feature. Kershaw warmed up in the bullpen during the loss, but manager Mark DeRosa opted to field All-Star reliever Mason Miller in his stead. The southpaw is still yet to feature for the team in the tournament.

Smith started the game, going 2-for-4 with a double. It was his second start of the tournament, having played against Team Great Britain in the third game of the WBC.

USA finished their pool play games with the loss, and have a 3-1 record. Teams Italy and Mexico have 3-0 and 2-1 records, respectively, and can both qualify for the next round while eliminating Team USA.

After record, there are five tiebreakers to determine who advances over who in the WBC. The first is head-to-head record, but if the three finish on 3-1 they will all have the same 1-1 record against each other. The next tiebreaker is runs allowed per defensive outs against the tied teams, followed by earned runs allowed per defensive outs in games among the tied teams.

Should those end in ties as well, which is nearly impossible in this scenario, the final tiebreaker is batting average in games between tied teams. If teams remain tied after that, they will draw lots.

How Does Team USA Avoid Elimination?

While the WBC’s tiebreaker rules are rather unorthodox and confusing, the situation is much simpler than it appears.

If Team Italy wins and secures a perfect 4-0 record in group play, Team Mexico will be eliminated and Team USA will advance into the quarterfinals from second place.

Should Team Mexico win, the United States needs them to score five or more runs in order to advance along with them. If they score fewer than five runs, though, Team USA will be eliminated and Mexico and Italy will advance to the next round.

Team Canada finished first in Pool A after a win over Team Cuba on Wednesday afternoon, and will face whichever of the three teams finishes second. Team Puerto Rico finished second, meaning they will play the winners of the group.

What is your preferred outcome for Team USA?