In the immediate moments following the Dominican Republic’s 10-0 win over South Korea on Friday. The Dominican fans began to chant “Queremos a USA.” (We want the USA) through the concourse of Miami’s LoanDepot Park.
On Sunday night, the Dominicans get their wish.
Team USA booked their ticket to the 2026 World Baseball Classic Semifinals with a gritty 5-3 victory over Canada in Houston, setting up a matchup of the world's best with a chance to book a ticket to the WBC Championship.
USA vs. Dominican Republic
Date: Sunday, March 15, 2026
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: LoanDepot Park, Miami, Florida
How to Watch: FS1, Fox Sports App
The Dominican Republic hasn’t skipped a beat in this tournament. Through five games, they are outscoring their opponents 51-10. They hit their 14th home run of the tournament on Friday, which ties a tournament record.
Team USA hasn’t had the path to the semifinals that they anticipated. The tournament favorites have struggled throughout the past week, after the stunning loss to Italy, and the recent scares from North American rivals Mexico and Canada. The United States has to play its best baseball against the hot Dominican bats.
Team USA is still looking for breakout moments from star players Captain Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper. Judge is 5-for-19 with two home runs, where Bryce Harper is 3-for-20. The veterans will need to show up for what will be a rubber match.
If there is one man capable of silencing the Dominican noise, it’s Paul Skenes. The reigning NL Cy Young winner threw four near-perfect innings against Mexico, and now will face a red-hot lineup that features Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto, Oneil Cruz and Junior Caminero. Skenes is expected to have a pitch limit of around 75 to 80 pitches, giving him enough room to potentially carry the Americans deep into the night.
The Dominican Republic will be giving the ball to veteran righty Luis Severino. Skenes has the ability to throw a triple-digit fastball, while Severino brings the ERA of 3.02. Look for Severino to attack the strike zone early in at-bats and get the Americans to chase pitches across the strike zone. It will be a matchup that the young superstar Skenes will have circled on his calendar as potentially one of the most important starts of his life.
The Dominican Republic has stashed a fan-favorite on the roster for this year’s WBC. New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells has been adopted as a part of the Dominican team. Wells is American-born; however, his mother is half-Dominican, making him eligible to suit up behind the dish. Wells hit the walk-off homer to trigger the mercy rule against South Korea on Friday.
For the Americans, the x-factor has come in the form of young centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Crow-Armstrong has gone 5-for-14, hitting two home runs from the bottom of the order. The young slugger will most likely find himself in the lineup with the country watching and waiting to potentially get back to the WBC Championship.
The game is being played on U.S. soil; however, there will be many Dominican flags in the stands in Miami. For the Americans to book a spot in the final, they will need Paul Skenes to step up and deliver deep into this game. It’s a battle between baseball's best, the No. 1 hitting team in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, against a 23-year-old phenom in Paul Skenes. Sunday night, the world will know who will be playing for a chance to solidify themselves as the best nation in the world. With reigning champion Japan’s loss to Venezuela, the winner of Sunday night's game will be a heavy favorite in Tuesday's Championship game.
