On Sunday night, the much-anticipated semifinal matchup between two baseball powerhouses in the United States and Dominican Republic in the 2026 World Baseball Classic is living up to the hype, as the two sides have been fighting to the nail in the early goings of the contest.

While the Dominican Republic have been the most dominant team in the competition thus far, that scarcely matters in a single-game elimination format — especially with Paul Skenes on the mound for Team USA.

Skenes, of course, cannot the win the game on his own for Team USA. He needs some support, especially from his offense. That's exactly what he got in the top of the fourth inning to turn the game against Dominican Republic on its head.

With Junior Caminero getting Dominican Republic on the board in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a monster home run off of Skenes, Team USA youngsters Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony showed that they got their ace's back — with the two hitting a solo home run each to give their team the lead, 2-1.

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The future is looking bright for Team USA, and the future has arrived. Henderson is 24, while Anthony is only 21 years of age. And yet, they're already pulling off feats that veterans can only dream of on the grandest international baseball stage.

Team USA will get Dominican Republic's best efforts

Livvy Dunne posts hilarious Paul Skenes-Bobby Witt Jr. viral meme
Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The game is far from over; considering how stacked DR's lineup is, it's hard to imagine them just going down without a fight for the final few innings of the game.

Skenes, of course, might be the best pitcher in the world at the moment, so facing him is going to be tough. But Team USA's bullpen has shown some shakiness in recent days, so all DR may have to do is to chase Skenes from the game.