As if the 2026 World Baseball Classic hasn't already been exceptionally riveting to this point, the competition is about to become even more heated. On Friday night, two powerhouses of the competition booked their spot against each other in the semifinal, with Dominican Republic demolishing South Korea, 10-0, to win via mercy rule, and Team USA following them to the next stage with a 5-3 win over Canada.
Nothing has come easy for Team USA throughout the 2026 World Baseball Classic, although this may be exactly how they want their journey in the competition to go. Their loss to Italy, which put them in a bit of danger of missing out on the knockout stage, was a major wake-up call, but now, they can at least say that they made it to the final four of the competition.
Through six innings, Team USA had built a 5-0 lead, but Canada rallied in the sixth inning, with Tyler Black getting them on the board and Bo Naylor putting them to within two runs with a two-run shot. But USA's relief corps locked in, with Mason Miller striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth to get the job done for USA.
But now, USA are about to face their toughest test yet in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Team USA to face dominant Dominican Republic in WBC semifinal
The Dominican Republic are just dismantling every team that comes their way thus far in the 2026 WBC. They finished pool play with a run differential of plus-31, and they added 10 more to that with their thrashing of South Korea.
They are entering their golden era of baseball, and Team USA will have to be at their best to make it back to the final of the World Baseball Classic. The good news is that Paul Skenes will be starting for USA, which is just about the best-case scenario for the team come Sunday night.
