Team USA, Paul Skenes face prolific Dominican Republic in WBC semifinal

MIAMI - It will be power arm against power bats when Team USA takes on the Dominican Republic in a World Baseball Classic in a high stakes semifinal on Sunday night.

Pittsburgh Pirates ace and reigning National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes will be tasked with trying to slow down the Dominican Republic's power lineup, which has already hit 14 home runs in five WBC games.

Skenes will oppose Athletics starter Luis Severino in Sunday's matchup. The winner advances to Tuesday's final, also in Miami.

New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells' walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh inning secured a 10-0 quarterfinal victory for the Dominican side over Korea and tied the 2009 Mexico squad for the most home runs in a Classic.

Although Sunday is not the final, the semifinal will undoubtedly have a championship feel with two star-studded rosters set to clash.

The United States is seeking its second WBC championship and first since 2017 while the Dominican Republic is coming off a disappointing early pool-play exit in 2023 and is hoping to win its first title since 2013 and second overall.

The Dominican Republic has outscored its opponents 51-10 during their five consecutive victories in this year's Classic. Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Junior Caminero, Oneil Cruz, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Wells have each hit two home runs during the tournament.

"This is something special for us because we are a very united team, compact team," Caminero said after beating Korea on Friday. "You can feel the emotion, the energy in the clubhouse. We work as a team. This is something very special to us. We cannot fake about being defeatless or not. Now we have to focus on the next rival on Sunday, and to continue playing like we have been doing so far."

The United States hopes Skenes can perform to the level that has led him to a dominating start of his career.

Skenes allowed only one hit and one walk over four scoreless innings in his lone outing of the Classic against Mexico in pool play.

"I like any game that Paul Skenes pitches," said reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge, following the United States' 5-3 quarterfinal win over Canada on Friday. "It's just incredible stuff. Watching him work on his craft the past couple weeks has been incredible. Seeing him in that game against Mexico, where it's an electric environment, he just toed the slab and went out and took care of business. It was really impressive."

"Looking forward to seeing him get out there and do his thing. And then we hand it over to the bullpen of ours, it's going to be a tough fight. But definitely looking forward to seeing him get back on the mound."

Severino has a challenge of his own on Sunday as he looks to quiet a USA lineup, which also has been prolific.

Two of the biggest contributors in the United States' lineup have been Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Milwaukee Brewers' second baseman Brice Turang. Crow-Armstrong has gone 5-for-13 with two home runs and six RBIs, while Turang is 7-for-15 with four doubles, which is tied for the most in this year's Classic with Venezuela's Luis Arraez entering Sunday's games.

Severino struck out five and allowed one run on three hits over four innings in his previous start this past Sunday -- a 12-1 mercy-rule win over the Netherlands.

--Field Level Media