2026 World Baseball Classic Semifinal: United States vs. Dominican Republic
Miami, USA – The semi-finals of the 2026 World Baseball Classic promise a high-caliber showdown: American pitcher Paul Skenes against the powerful offense of the Dominican Republic baseball team. Skenes, recognized as one of the tournament’s most outstanding pitchers and winner of the National League Cy Young Award, will be the starter for the United States at loanDepot park. However, the challenge for Skenes will be the Dominican offense, which has proven to be a real danger during the championship. In five games, the team has hit 14 home runs and scored 51 runs, establishing itself as one of the strongest attacks in the tournament. The Dominican lineup is full of Major League stars, including Fernando Tatis Jr., Ketel Marte, Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Manny Machado, Junior Caminero, and Julio Rodríguez.One of the biggest challenges for Dominican hitters will be Skenes’ velocity. In his first start, the pitcher averaged 97.4 miles per hour with his fastball, reaching peaks of 99.7 mph. This speed contrasts with the openers that the Dominican Republic has faced in the tournament, who average around 90.8 mph. However, hitters like Soto, Rodríguez, and Caminero have proven to be effective against fast pitches. In addition to his fastball, Skenes has an arsenal of seven pitches: four-seam fastball, sinker, splitter, changeup, sweeper, slider, and curveball. This variety could be key against a lineup that combines power and contact. Individual matchups between Skenes and hitters like Soto and Rodríguez will be crucial. Soto has historically had success against fastballs and breaking pitches similar to Skenes’s, while Rodríguez has proven effective against high-velocity sinkers and sweepers. The game between the United States and the Dominican Republic promises to be a memorable moment of the World Baseball Classic. The winner will advance to the championship game.We have a lot of stars on the team and we know how good we are. No matter who is pitching in front of us, we will execute our game plan.
Manny Machado
