The United States and the Dominican Republic will clash in the semifinals of the 2026 World Baseball Classic on Sunday night in Miami. Paul Skenes starts for Team USA against a potent Dominican lineup, while Luis Severino takes the mound for the Dominican Republic. The winner advances to the finals against the victor of the other semifinal.
The 2026 World Baseball Classic semifinals feature a highly anticipated matchup between Team USA and the Dominican Republic at loanDepot Park in Miami. The game is scheduled for Sunday, March 15, at 8 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast on FS1, with streaming available on fubo.
Team USA advanced to the semifinals with a 5-3 victory over Canada in the quarterfinals, following a pool play run differential of plus-18 despite an upset loss to Italy. Hot performers include Pete Crow-Armstrong, who is 5-for-13 with three extra-base hits, and Brice Turang, who is 7-for-15 with four doubles. The U.S. roster boasts nine players who received MVP votes last year, including Aaron Judge, the AL MVP winner.
The Dominican Republic has been dominant, entering the semifinals with a 5-0 record and outscoring opponents 51-10 overall. They mercy-ruled Korea 10-0 in seven innings in the quarterfinals after a 41-10 pool play performance. Their offense has batted .312/.453/.637 with 14 home runs in five games, tying a WBC record. Six players have multiple home runs: Oneil Cruz, Austin Wells, Junior Caminero, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Juan Soto, and Fernando Tatis Jr. The lineup features stars like Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Manny Machado, Julio Rodríguez, and Ketel Marte. Manager Albert Pujols' squad also has nine players with MVP votes from last year.
Starting pitchers are Paul Skenes for the U.S. and Luis Severino for the Dominican Republic. Skenes, the reigning NL Cy Young winner, was dominant in pool play against Mexico, throwing four scoreless innings with one hit, seven strikeouts, and one walk, topping out at 99.7 mph. U.S. manager Mark DeRosa indicated Skenes will likely be limited to 75-80 pitches, though WBC rules allow up to 95 in semifinals. Severino allowed one run and three hits with five strikeouts over four innings against the Netherlands in pool play.
This marks the fourth WBC meeting between the teams. The Dominican Republic defeated the U.S. 3-1 in 2013 pool play en route to the title and 7-5 in 2017 pool play, but the U.S. won 6-3 in the 2017 quarterfinals, highlighted by Adam Jones' leaping catch robbing Manny Machado. The winner advances to the finals on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET in loanDepot Park.
