World Baseball Classic Recap: USA beats Dominican Republic after controversial strike three call

"While the Dominican Republic didn't threaten in the bottom of the eighth, they didn't get a chance as Juan Soto "struck out looking". And by that, I mean he took a pitch that was well below the strike zone, only to be rung up. Guerrero Jr. grounded out, and Manny Machado struck out swinging to give the DR just three more outs."

"It's a great system that will give the pitcher, catcher, and batters a chance to overturn incorrect calls. If the call is upheld, the team will lose the challenge, which is a bit of a problem as each team has just two challenges. It doesn't take long to get the answer and it's a terrific addition."

"The DR took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, as Junior Caminero hit his third home run of the tournament, a solo blast. That lead lasted until the top of the fourth, as Gunnar Henderson hit a solo blast to tie the game up at one. Two batters later, Roman Anthony hit his second home run of the tournament to give the USA a 2-1 lead."

The Dominican Republic fell 2-1 to the United States in the 2026 World Baseball Classic semifinals, ending their tournament run. Junior Caminero gave the DR an early 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the second inning. The USA tied the game in the fourth when Gunnar Henderson hit a solo blast, then took the lead on Roman Anthony's home run two batters later. The Dominican Republic had scoring opportunities but failed to capitalize, including a bases-loaded situation in the fourth inning and runners in scoring position in the seventh. A controversial strikeout call on Juan Soto in the eighth inning—a pitch well below the strike zone—proved costly, as the DR could not recover.

Read at BlueJaysNation