Miami (AFP) – Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony smashed solo home runs, leading the United States to a 2-1 victory over the Dominican Republic on Sunday and securing a spot in the World Baseball Classic final. Both blasts came in the fourth inning and provided all the scoring the Americans needed, as starter Paul Skenes and five relief pitchers baffled the big-hitting Dominican lineup.
“Just put an emphasis on getting in early, being ready to hit,” Anthony said of his decisive homer. “It was about going out there and getting a good pitch to hit. When I hit it, I kind of just blacked out. In my head was just, ‘Please go.'”
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The Americans advanced to Tuesday’s championship match, where they will face the winner of Monday’s semi-final between unbeaten Italy and upstart Venezuela, which dethroned defending champion Japan in the quarter-finals. “Just continue to be relentless, continue to do what we’ve been doing so well,” Anthony said of the US strategy for the final. This will be the third consecutive Classic final for the United States, which won the 2017 crown before losing the 2023 final to Japan.
Right-hander Skenes scattered six hits and struck out two while allowing only one run over 4 1/3 innings. Relievers struck out six with only one walk while allowing only two hits. “It wasn’t the prettiest or cleanest game I’ve ever pitched,” Skenes said. “It’s unbelievable. Coming into the game, just wanted to put up as many zeroes as possible and put us in a position to win. Everybody else did their job.”
Dominican pitchers struck out US batters 15 times, but the Dominican Republic stranded seven base runners, thwarted time and again in bids to plate the tying run. Both squads of Major League Baseball stars, with a combined 12 Most Valuable Player trophies and more than 50 all-star selections, delivered an epic showdown in an electric atmosphere.
Dominican sluggers, who outscored rivals 51-10 in prior Classic play, tagged Skenes early. Junior Caminero, the Dominican designated hitter, smacked a solo homer to left field on a two-out, two-strike pitch in the second inning, giving the Dominicans a 1-0 lead with a record 15th homer in this year’s Classic.
The Americans threatened in the third when Bobby Witt Jr. singled and took third base on Bryce Harper’s double down the right-field line. However, right-hander Luis Severino struck out Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber, ending the inning on his sixth strikeout. Henderson bashed his homer to right field in the fourth, and Severino was replaced by left-hander Gregory Soto, who then surrendered Anthony’s homer for the game’s final run.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. doubled off the left-field wall in the fourth, and the Dominicans loaded the bases before Austin Wells flew out to left field to end the threat. Julio Rodriguez made a leaping grab at the centerfield wall to rob Judge of a homer in the fifth.
The Dominicans thwarted again as Fernando Tatis and Ketel Marte hit back-to-back singles in the fifth, sending Skenes to the showers, but reliever Tyler Rogers got Juan Soto to hit into an inning-ending double play. The Dominicans threatened again in the seventh, with a one-out double to right field by Wells, who reached third on a Geraldo Perdomo single. However, US relief pitcher David Bednar struck out Tatis and Marte, frustrating the Caribbeans yet again.
“It came down to ‘Not today,’ and finding a way by any means, just getting the job done for the boys,” Bednar said. American pitcher Garrett Whitlock retired the heart of the Dominican batting order 1-2-3 in the eighth inning.
US closer Mason Miller entered in the intense ninth and walked Rodriguez with one out. Rodriguez took second on a wild pitch by Miller and third on a ground out by pinch-hitter Oneil Cruz. With the game up for grabs, Miller retired Perdomo on a called third strike, and the Americans celebrated their spot in the championship game.
© 2024 AFP
