Looks like it was an amazing game, though I missed it. (Completely forgot it was on.) Still looked great through the highlights.
Paul Skenes looked pretty good in giving up 1 run through 5, but the US bullpen was strong when it counted. Pity that Skenes won't play in another meaningful game until the 2029 WBC. /shrug
With Venezuela beating Japan and Italy looking so strong, Venezuela/Italy should be a good show tonight, to see who USA will play in the finals.
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Previous game was against Canada Friday night. We got their number, it seems.
That was a great game! The Dominican Republic came into the game averaging 10.3 runs/game, but they were only able to score 1 run against Team USA. I kept expecting the DR bats to explode for a few runs, but the USA pitchers were outstanding.
The DR fans are pretty upset about the final strike call that ended the game. Juan Soto went 0 for 4 in the game, but said afterwards "We showed the world who's the best team in baseball. That's all I got to say." Right... That reminds me of Nathan McKinnon's comments after losing in the Olympic Hockey Gold Medal Game: "You be the judge of who was the better team today."
McKinnon had way more to stand on than Soto. DR was dominant until they weren't.
Social media blowing that final strike up everywhere. I have watched it about ten times and two things stand out. I cant tell when it dropped and the catcher framed it perfectly. That ball drops like 15 inches but I haven't seen a side angle that shows when it breaks. If it was at its top as it got to the front of the box its likely a strike. It had vicious movement though so I get why the call doesnt sit well with DR fans.
1. ball drops like 15 inches but I haven't seen a side angle that shows when it breaks
2. catcher framed it perfectly
This happens all the time. Called strike. DR fans need to chill. One of these can go against the US as well (probably already has).
Off to the Finals!
I saw that last pitch and knew that was a strike before the ump even started to make the call. In that situation as a hitter you CANNOT be taking any borderline pitches. Perdomo should have known better especially after watching Soto go down on strikes on a very similar pitch the inning before. At that point as a hitter you should be taking note that the ump might have a slightly expanded zone. Miller and Smith did and they took advantage of it. That's baseball. The DR players can whine all they want about 2 pitches, and just ignore how they failed to score in the 4th and the 7th with golden opportunities, or how their best hitters Soto went 0-fer while grounding into a DP.
I'd have to look for it but I saw an angle this morning from behind Perdomo and it pretty clearly crosses below the knees, it was a bad call by an ump who was pretty bad most of the night so the possibility for it had to be in the back of your mind that anything close probably wouldn't go their way.
If anything, on top of being frustrated by the call, if I were the DR I would be frustrated by the lack of ABS. I get why it's not there for the WBC, MLB doesn't want to be doing all of the scanning (both of the random non-MLB players and the stadiums) they would need to implement it in the Tokyo dome and San Juan, but that's the exact situation that the new ABS rules are designed to account for.
Lots of talk about ABS throughout the broadcasts that I saw. Maybe that happens next time, and I think a lot of people would be supportive of it. But, its a much bigger logistical challenge than doing it for just MLB.
Here's a view of the ball crossing the plate from the side. That's REALLY close, and way too close to take with two strikes, IMHO.
Yup. From that angle its lower than how it looked realtime from the center field camera, still borderline. Miller had a pretty good drop in his breaking stuff, and at this point in the inning the ump knew it. That probably factored into the call. I still have no issue with the strike that was called, and I would have zero issue if ABS could have been used to overturn it. Still - If you are the hitter, you cannot be taking that pitch.
Completely agree, cant risk a pitch like that with the game on the line.
I would think that is a low pitch, ball, but in real time and later in the game when the strike zone tends to get a little bigger, I see how that gets called a strike.
As a diehard baseball fan, I was lukewarm about the WBC going in, but I have to admit there have been some damn good games & performances during the tournament. Bobby Witt, who I don't get to see very often, is incredibly talented. The players from the Red Sox have showed out very well, and watching the teams & fans from South America is a lot of fun. I don't think very many people, including me, thought that Italy would still be in it.
Two other thoughts: Just about every player is looking to hit a homer every time up (particularly USA), and I thought that last pitch against D.R. was the perfect "pitcher's pitch".
Yep, same here. I was curious, so I looked up the rosters of the three remaining teams to see where everyone was born.
But they're Italian..... 🤌
Bobby Witt, Jr. is playing out of his mind defensively.
In back to back innings...
Skenes was loving it!
Well that was a letdown. Credit to the Venezuelan pitchers. The US hitters picked a really bad time to go absolutely quiet, and we would have been blanked entirely if Harper hadn't connected on one pitch. Really sad end to a WBC tha the US was expected to dominate.
I really liked DeRosa when he played for the Cubs. I can't imagine he'll get an offer to manage in the WBC again though....
Personally the only head-scratcher of a move was why Byron Buxton started last night. It had to have been for his defense because he hadn't managed a hit the entire WBC. For the most part DeRosa put the best team together that he could. The pitchers, with the exception of the game against Italy, did their job. Hitting was feast or famine the entire WBC, and last night was all famine.
I think Gunnar should have played over Bregman, lefty matchup be damned. He was the hottest hitter on the team and there's a strong argument if the US wins that game that he's the MVP of the tournament, stick with your hot hand and see what happens.