I didn’t think it was out of the question that the United States could figure out a way to win this game. And this is America, we are very rarely ever the underdog. It was undeniable that the Dominican Republic had been the most impressive team so far in the World Baseball Classic, and I legitimately think their lineup is one of the greatest ever assembled. I felt like Paul Skenes was the right guy for the job. If he could give the US four or more good innings, it could give the bullpen some room for error, assuming, of course, the United States offense was able to break out a little bit. I was sort of right.
Skenes was really good. It’s hard to get a gauge on how electric his stuff truly was tonight because he’s facing a lineup that’s unlike anything he’ll ever see again. Still, the fact that he limited the Dominican Republic to just one run and pitched out of some trouble was huge. I had some concerns about the United States bullpen coming into this game, and I figured we should expect them to give up several runs against this potent Dominican Republic lineup. For this pitching staff to hold the Dominican Republic to just one run, and for the bullpen to hold them to a grand total of zero runs, is something I never saw coming.
As much as the pitching is deserving of their flowers, it’s hard to deny that they got a little bit of help along the way. There were a few questionable punch-outs by the umpire behind the plate, and the United States took advantage of it. There’s no ABS system in the World Baseball Classic, so there’s nothing to apologize for. The United States also benefited from some brilliant defense in this game. Aaron Judge throwing out Fernando Tatís on the base pads saved Paul Skenes from another high-leverage at-bat with runners and scoring position. Simply put, the United States made all the winning players in this game.
This American crew has made it to their third consecutive WBC final. They’re looking for an opportunity to avenge the 2023 loss to Japan. They will play the winner of Venezuela and Italy on Tuesday night.