The United States beat the star-studded Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. The end was a bit marred by a blown call.
Team USA faltered a bit in the World Baseball Classic when they lost to Italy, and they’ve been on a tear ever since. With Sunday night’s 2-1 victory over an incredible star-studded Dominican Republic in the semifinals, the United States will head to the championship game. It wasn’t a win without controversy, however, as there was a blown ball-strike call that ended the Dominican Republic's WBC dreams.
The call on a full-count slider from U.S. closer Mason Miller was a strike by home-plate umpire Cory Blaser, despite graphics showing the pitch clearly below the zone. It certainly adds to the frustration that the WBC doesn’t use the automatic ball-strike challenge system that the MLB is specifically employing this upcoming season to counter blown calls. However, the D.R. still had plenty of opportunity and didn’t get a single hit off in the ninth. To win, you have to hit. You also have to be able to close, and the US was able to do just that behind San Diego Padres’ closer Miller, who’s thought to be one of the best, despite maybe not having his best performance in the WBC, which makes sense as the Classic runs straight through the middle of Spring Training where pitchers are still returning to full-season form. It was Miller's second appearance after notching his first save against Canada in the quarterfinals.
Here is the full story from Padres Roundtable writer Bob McCullough on Miller’s second save for Team USA in the WBC and the controversial call.
Miller had some shaky moments, but the pitching staff ultimately shut down the formidable Dominican Republic lineup that tests the best of the best relievers. Team USA will now await the results of Venezuela vs. Italy in a Monday night showdown at 8 p.m. ET to learn their opponent in the WBC championship.