Team USA Advances to Face Dominican Republic in WBC Semis

Baseball fans are getting the matchup they've been chanting for after Team USA punched its ticket to the World Baseball Classic semifinals with a win over Canada on Friday night.

Playing before 38,054 fans in Houston, the Americans held off a late Canadian rally to secure a 5-3 victory. The win sets up Sunday's highly anticipated showdown in Miami against the Dominican Republic, marking the first time these baseball powerhouses will meet in the WBC since 2017.

Team USA manager Mark DeRosa didn't hold back his excitement. "I expect it to be one of the best games of all time," he said.

Logan Webb set the tone early for the Americans, delivering 4⅔ shutout innings with his excellent sinker and changeup combination. The United States built a 5-0 lead through six innings, getting runs from smart baserunning and timely hitting rather than relying on home runs.

Canada made things interesting late when catcher Bo Naylor crushed a two-run homer in the sixth inning to cut the lead to 5-3. An inning later, the Canadians loaded the bases with no outs and threatened to complete the comeback.

But closer David Bednar stayed calm under pressure, striking out two batters and getting a crucial chase on a splitter to end the threat. Garrett Whitlock and Mason Miller closed out the final six outs to seal the victory.

Why This Inspires

This game represents everything great about international baseball. Two nations with deep baseball traditions battling it out, with the winning team earning the right to face the Dominican Republic, a squad that has absolutely dominated the tournament with 51 runs scored in five games.

Captain Aaron Judge summed up the challenge ahead perfectly, noting that winning will require more than just power hitting. "We've got to play small ball, we've got to move runners, we've got to do different things just to create some offense," he said.

The stage is set for Sunday's 8 p.m. ET clash in Miami. Paul Skenes, who threw four near-perfect innings earlier in the tournament, will start for Team USA against a Dominican lineup batting an incredible .312 as a team with 14 home runs.

Baseball fans on both sides are ready to witness what could become an instant classic in WBC history.