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With home runs from Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony, the United States defeated the Dominican Republic 2-1 this Sunday in an exciting semifinal, putting them one win away from claiming their second title in the World Baseball Classic.
The American team, which boasts a strong roster led by National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes and stars like Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge, has reached its third consecutive final in the tournament, having won the championship in 2017 and losing to Japan in 2023.
Henderson and Anthony's home runs in the fourth inning made the difference in a matchup dominated by pitching. Skenes worked four and a third innings, allowing just one run and six hits, before the American bullpen kept the Dominican offense silent for the rest of the game.
The only run for the Caribbean team came from a solo home run by Junior Caminero, but the powerful Dominican lineup—which had been one of the most explosive in the tournament—failed to respond to the strong relief pitching from the United States.
The end of the game was dramatic. In the ninth inning, Julio Rodríguez walked and advanced to third, but the closer Mason Miller struck out Geraldo Perdomo with two outs to clinch the victory for the United States.
The Dominican Republic, which had advanced with authority in the early rounds and reached the semifinals undefeated, was unable to achieve its goal of returning to the tournament final, an instance it had not reached since winning the title in 2013.
The United States will now face the winner of the second semifinal between Italy and Venezuela in Tuesday's final, which will determine the opponent for the championship of the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
In that rivalry, in addition to the sporting clash, the particular history between the two teams stands out: Venezuela has defeated Italy in all five previous occasions in the World Classic, although the most recent matches have been much closer.
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