Team USA’s pitching staff shut down the most explosive offense in World Baseball Classic history, beating the Dominican Republic 2-1 to advance to their third straight WBC final. Paul Skenes led the way with 4.1 innings of one-run ball, and the bullpen took care of the rest.
The Dominicans came into this semifinal with “Platano Power” on full display — 14 home runs that tied the tournament record, plus a lineup featuring Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. They’d been averaging over 10 runs per game and never scored fewer than seven.
Until tonight.
Skenes, the 2025 NL Cy Young winner, gave up just one run — a Junior Caminero solo shot in the second that broke the WBC home run record. That was all the Dominican Republic could muster against American pitching that’s been the difference-maker for Team USA this tournament.
“Just coming into the game, I wanted to put up as many zeroes as possible and put us in a position to win. Everybody else did their job, that was really fun to watch”
What made Skenes’ performance special wasn’t his raw stuff — he only struck out two batters compared to seven against Mexico. It’s how he worked out of trouble. Bottom of the fourth, bases loaded, he got Austin Wells to fly out. Fifth inning, runners on first and second, he induced a double play from Soto.
Skenes vs. Dominican Republic
- Innings pitched: 4.1
- Hits: 6
- Earned Runs: 1
- Walks: 0
- Strikeouts: 2
Going into this tournament, what separated the U.S. from teams of the past was elite pitching depth. Skenes and Tarik Skubal combined to give up just two total runs in three starts. That’s the kind of front-line pitching that wins tournaments.
After Skenes left to a standing ovation in the fifth, the bullpen put together one of the most impressive relay performances you’ll see. Five different pitchers — one per inning — held the most prolific lineup in tournament history to just two hits.
Tyler Rogers got the final two outs of the fifth without allowing a baserunner. Griffin Jax threw a clean sixth. David Bednar gave up two hits in the seventh but struck out two. Garrett Whitlock punched out two more in the eighth.
Then came Mason Miller in the ninth, touching 103 mph to close it out.
The numbers tell the story of how completely American pitching neutralized Dominican power:
- Soto, Guerrero Jr., Machado: Combined 1-for-11
- Team totals: 8 hits, 1 run, 5 strikeouts
- After Skenes: 2 hits over four innings
Caminero’s homer was historic — it gave the Dominican Republic their 15th of the tournament, breaking the previous WBC record. But it was also their only moment of offensive success against a pitching staff that’s been dominant all tournament long.
The Dominican Republic team averaged over 10 runs per game in the World Baseball Classic, and never scored fewer than 7 runs in a game …
until tonight against Team USA where they only scored one run. pic.twitter.com/9ZWH5GFdcC
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) March 16, 2026
What makes this even more impressive is the context. The Dominican offense hadn’t just been good — it had been historically great. Tatis was hitting .342 for the tournament. Soto was at .364. Guerrero Jr. was hitting .500. Caminero came into tonight at .412.
None of that mattered once American pitching took the mound.
The Bigger Picture
This performance validates everything Team USA built their 2026 roster around. While past American teams relied heavily on offensive firepower, this group bet on pitching depth. Having Skenes and Skubal as your 1-2 punch, then rolling out five elite relievers who can each handle an inning — that’s how you beat the best lineups in the world.
Skenes wrote about what it means to pitch for his country in The Player’s Tribune before his first start. The former Air Force cadet turned LSU star turned Pirates ace has now thrown a game that’ll be part of WBC lore forever.
The U.S. advances to their third straight World Baseball Classic final, and they’re doing it behind the kind of pitching that can beat anybody on any given night. That Dominican lineup was supposed to be unstoppable.
Turns out there’s always a great equalizer when you’ve got Paul Skenes taking the ball.
