While it was not the way they expected it to happen, Team USA made it to the knockout portion of the 2026 World Baseball Classic and is now one step closer in getting back to the championship game. They won their quarterfinal game against Canada on Friday, 5-3, setting up a semifinal game against the Dominican Republic on Sunday.
Logan Webb (San Francisco Giants) pitched 4.2 shutout innings, allowing just four hits, while Kyle Schwarber (Philadelphia Phillies), Alex Bregman (Chicago Cubs), Brice Turang (Milwaukee Brewers) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (Chicago Cubs) all drove in runs for the United States to secure the win.
While the win is all that matters, Friday’s game did continue to highlight one big issue that the United States team has that could be a problem in the semifinal and potential championship game.
They cannot keep the ball in the ballpark.
Team USA is giving up too many home runs
Even with Friday’s win, things became a little too close for comfort in the later innings after Bo Naylor clubbed a two-run home run off Gabe Speier in the bottom of the sixth inning to turn a 5-1 game into a 5-3 game. While the United States bullpen was able to close things down after that, including a clutch inning from David Bednar (New York Yankees) when he stranded two runners in scoring position, including the potential game-tying run, the home run is still a recurring problem.
Naylor’s home run was already the 10th home run the United States has allowed in the tournament, which is tied for the most in the entire tournament alongside Korea.
That could be a major point of concern in the semifinal against a Dominican Republic team that has already hit 14 home runs in the tournament, more than any other team.
The long ball is what got the United States in trouble in pool play in its loss to Italy. That loss put them into a situation where they needed to scoreboard watch on Wednesday just to advance. It was a stressful day given that the United States and manager Mark DeRosa were hoping to avoid the embarrassment of failing to get out of pool play after thinking they had already clinched their spot.
They will need to keep that in check if they are going to keep advancing.
Paul Skenes (Pittsburgh Pirates) will get the start on Sunday night, creating a captivating matchup between baseball’s best pitcher (arguably) and one of the best lineups in the tournament. Even if Skenes is able to dominate the way he has through the first two years of his career, he is not going to pitch all nine innings. The bullpen will have to contribute as well. Their ability to keep the ball in the stadium could ultimately decide if the United States is back in the championship game.