All things considered, this year’s iteration of the World Baseball Classic has delivered on all of its promise for excitement. Sunday’s game, between two powerhouses in the Dominican Republic and the United States, was a matchup that was highly anticipated, and would decide who would appear in the WBC championship game. The Classic’s semifinal game did not disappoint on this front, as high quality pitching from both sides and a couple of big solo home runs were ultimately the deciding factor.
Semifinals
Game 1: United States 2, Dominican Republic 1
Adrenaline was flowing for perhaps the premier matchup for this tournament, and it was clear from the very beginning. Both starting pitchers in this one, Paul Skenes for the United States and Luis Severino for the Dominican Republic, were pumping fastballs close to triple-digits. Both hard-throwing righties looked good in their starts, though they were ultimately bit by the limited mistakes they did serve up.
This game was dictated by moments, and in a matchup of this stature, it were those by the biggest names the sport has to offer. Early on, the stars of the American League East shined in this one. It began in the bottom of the second inning, when Junior Caminero of the Rays continued his terrific tournament with a solo homer into left field. His third homer of the Classic sent loanDepot Park and the D.R. dugout into a frenzy.
An inning later, the Yankees’ Aaron Judge made one of his patented rocket-like throws to third base, this one nabbing Fernando Tatis Jr. attempting to take an extra base.
The United States squad took that momentum and pumped it into the bats in the top half of the fourth. In that inning, more AL East-ers had their moment, when a solo homer from Gunnar Henderson tied the game up, and another from Roman Anthony gave the U.S. the lead.
For a good stretch after the big solo bombs from the United States’ youngsters, this game was dictated by good defense and pitching that kept possible offensive opportunities at bay. Skenes stranded the bases loaded in the fourth inning, and when he was lifted in a tight spot an inning later in favor of Tyler Rogers, the side-winder induced an inning-ending double-play to put an end to another rally.
The Dominican lineup was threatening once again in the seventh, when hits from Austin Wells and Geraldo Perdomo had a couple of runners in scoring position. David Bednar, who came out of the ‘pen to being the frame, was able to record subsequent strikeouts of Tatis Jr. and Ketel Marte to escape yet another jam, as the U.S. continued to tightrope out of danger against the potent D.R. lineup.
For the U.S., the bullpen continued to deal, as Garrett Whitlock was the next man up, and he managed a seamless 1-2-3 inning against the heart of the Dominican lineup — with the aid of a generous called strike three on a man who knows the strike zone better than anyone this side of Ted Williams, Juan Soto.
For the ninth inning, yet another electric arm hit the mound for the United States, as Mason Miller was tasked with locking things down in the ninth. He did not make it the smoothest of rides, with Julio Rodríguez reaching on a walk and advancing on a wild pitch, but after an eight-pitch battle with Geraldo Perdomo, the hard-throwing righty ultimately shut this one down with a strikeout.
As with Soto, the last pitch was below the zone. As with Soto, home-plate umpire Cory Blaser punched Perdomo out anyway.
The United States bullpen pitched 4.2 scoreless innings to finish this game off, which was ultimately the deciding factor. It should be mentioned as well that the relievers for the D.R., five of whom kept the U.S. scoreless for the final five innings of the game, were terrific in their own right.
I’m surely not alone in this sentiment, but it feels safe to say that this was about as high quality a baseball game as you can possibly find, and it was almost entirely a joy to watch from end-to-end. Between terrific pitching, defensive highlights, and big homers from three of the game’s biggest and youngest stars, it was a terrific exhibition of the beautiful game. It’s just a shame that a one-run affair had to end in an umpiring controversy.
The United States will play the winner of Venezuela and Italy on Tuesday at 8:00pm in the World Baseball Classic’s championship game. The second semifinal will take place tomorrow night at the same time, with Venezuela’s Keider Montero set to face Italy’s Michael Lorenzen.
