Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony delivered crucial home runs as the United States national baseball team defeated the Dominican Republic national baseball team 2–1 in a tense semifinal on Sunday, moving within one victory of securing a second World Baseball Classic title.
The star-studded American squad, guided by National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes and featuring major league standouts Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge, advanced to its third consecutive WBC championship game.
The United States previously won the tournament in 2017 and finished runner-up to Shohei Ohtani and Japan national baseball team in 2023.
Team USA will meet the winner of Monday’s semifinal between Italy national baseball team and Venezuela national baseball team in Tuesday’s final.
The Dominican Republic reached the semifinals for the first time since capturing the WBC title in 2013, but falling short of the championship game was a disappointment for a roster loaded with talent.
Six players on the team had finished among the top 10 in MVP voting last year, and the squad had dominated earlier rounds of the tournament.
Their toughest challenge came against Skenes (2–0), who allowed just one run on six hits across 4⅓ innings.
The U.S. bullpen then kept the Dominican lineup scoreless for the remainder of the contest.
The Dominicans mounted a late threat in the ninth inning when Julio Rodríguez drew a walk and advanced to third base against closer Mason Miller. With two outs, Miller struck out Geraldo Perdomo on a pitch that appeared well below the strike zone to secure his second save.
Junior Caminero had earlier given the Dominican Republic the lead with a solo home run off Skenes in the second inning, marking the team’s record 15th homer of the tournament and surpassing the mark set by Mexico national baseball team in 2009. Caminero concluded the tournament with a .350 batting average.
The clash between the two powerful lineups produced several dramatic defensive moments as well.
Judge ignited the excitement in the third inning with a powerful 95.7 mph throw from right field that caught Fernando Tatis Jr. attempting to reach third base. However, the New York Yankees star later became the victim of a spectacular defensive play in the fifth when Rodríguez—an inning after being struck on the wrist by a 98 mph fastball from Skenes—leaped over the center-field wall to rob him of a home run.
Henderson, who started at third base ahead of Alex Bregman, tied the game in the fourth inning with a home run off Luis Severino before Anthony delivered the decisive blast. The go-ahead homer came on a full-count sinker thrown by reliever Gregory Soto.
