MIAMI (Mar. 15) \u2014 A two-run fourth was enough to give the United States<\/a> a 2\u20131 victory over the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic Semifinal Sunday night. Every run in the game came on a solo home run.<\/p>\n Junior Caminero<\/a><\/strong> opened the scoring with a two-out solo homer to left off Paul Skenes<\/a><\/strong> in the bottom of the second. Gunnar Henderson<\/a><\/strong> tied it with a leadoff shot to right in the fourth off Luis Severino<\/a><\/strong>. Later in the inning, a Roman Anthony<\/a><\/strong> solo blast off Gregory Soto<\/a><\/strong> gave the United States a 2\u20131 lead and completed the scoring.<\/p>\n United States starting pitcher Paul Skenes scattered six hits across 4 1\/3 innings, allowing one run. He walked none and struck two out, also hitting two batters.<\/p>\n Second baseman Brice Turang<\/a><\/strong> made a diving stop to his left to retire Juan Soto<\/a><\/strong> with the last out of the first. Gunnar Henderson made a nice barehand-and-throw on a Vladimir Guerrero Jr.<\/a><\/strong> bouncer for the first out of the second. Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr made a sliding stop to his right and strong throw to retire Manny Machado<\/a><\/strong> by under a step. Right fielder Aaron Judge<\/a><\/strong> made a tumbling catch in right field to rob Soto for the first out of the fourth. But perhaps the greatest defensive play by the Americans came when Judge gunned down Fernando Tatis Jr at third as the latter tried to go first-to-third on a third-inning Ketel Marte<\/a><\/strong> single.<\/p>\n David Bednar<\/a><\/strong>, despite having runners on second and third with one out, struck out Tatis and Marte to escape the jam. Garrett Whitlock<\/a><\/strong> pitched a 1-2-3 eighth, striking out the first and the last batters. Mason Miller<\/a><\/strong> pitched around a one-out walk for a scoreless ninth. Like Whitlock, he struck out the first and last batters.<\/p>\n The Americans\u2019 turn at bat ended in both the second and eighth with a groundball double play.<\/p>\n The United States managed one baserunner after the fifth. That came on a one-out walk in the eighth inning. It was erased by an inning-ending double play.<\/p>\n As mentioned earlier, the Dominican Republic twice escaped a jam by turning a side-retiring double play.<\/p>\n Luis Severino bent but didn\u2019t break. He allowed one run on five hits, a hit batsman, a homer, no walks, and six strikeouts.<\/p>\n Of the eight runners left on base, six were in scoring position. The Dominican Republic left the bases loaded in the fourth and runners on second and third in the seventh. Plus, they left a runner on third twice \u2014 the fifth and the ninth.<\/p>\n The third ended with the Judge throw to third. In the fifth, with one out and runners on first and second, Juan Soto grounded into a double play.<\/p>\n Skenes earned the win as Gregory Soto took the loss in relief. Miller notched the save.<\/p>\n The United States will play in the final for the third straight tournament. They won the 2017 edition and lost to Japan in the 2023 final. Their opponents will be the winner of the Italy\u2013Venezuela game Monday night.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nUnited States \u2013 Dominican Republic Game Summary<\/h3>\n
What Went Right for the United States<\/h3>\n
Starting Pitching<\/h4>\n
Defense<\/h4>\n
Clutch Relief Pitching<\/h4>\n
What Went Wrong for the United States<\/h3>\n
Two Inning-Ending Double Plays<\/h4>\n
Very Little Traffic on the Bases<\/h4>\n
What Went Right for the Dominican Republic<\/h3>\n
Double Play Escape Artists<\/h4>\n
Starting Pitching<\/h4>\n
What Went Wrong for the Dominican Republic<\/h3>\n
Runners Left in Scoring Position<\/h4>\n
Inning-Ending Defensive Plays<\/h4>\n
Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n
Main Photo:<\/h4>\n