By Blessing Nweke
The United States moved within one win of another title after defeating the Dominican Republic 2-1 in a tense semifinal of the World Baseball Classic on Sunday.
Solo home runs by Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony powered the Americans past a star-studded Dominican lineup and into their third consecutive championship game. The United States will now face the winner of Monday’s semifinal between Italy and Venezuela in Tuesday’s final.
The American roster, led by National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes and featuring sluggers Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge, is seeking its second WBC title after winning in 2017 and finishing runner-up to Shohei Ohtani and Japan in 2023.
The Dominican Republic struck first when Junior Caminero launched a solo home run in the second inning, giving his team its tournament-record 15th homer. Caminero finished the competition batting .350.
The United States responded in the fourth inning. Henderson, starting at third base ahead of Alex Bregman, tied the game with a solo shot off Luis Severino. Moments later, Anthony delivered the decisive blow, driving a 3-2 sinker from Gregory Soto over the wall to put the Americans ahead 2-1.
Skenes (2-0) limited the Dominican offense to one run on six hits over 4 1/3 innings before handing the game to a resilient U.S. bullpen that shut the door the rest of the way.
The game also featured spectacular defense. Judge fired a 95.7 mph throw from right field to cut down Fernando Tatis Jr. at third base in the third inning. Later, Julio Rodríguez climbed the center-field wall to rob Judge of a home run.
The Dominican Republic mounted a final threat in the ninth when Rodríguez walked and advanced to third. But closer Mason Miller struck out Geraldo Perdomo to seal the dramatic victory and send the United States to the final.
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