Awful Strike Three Call Ends Team USA-Dominican Republic WBC Clash in Controversial Fashion

Team USA beat the Dominican Republic 2-1 in the semifinals of the 2026 World Baseball Classic on Sunday night in what was an absolutely thrilling game. Unfortunately, the ending will remain controversial for quite some time.

With the U.S. leading 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Mason Miller was on to close the game out. With a runner on third and two outs, Miller faced Geraldo Perdomo in what turned out to be an outstanding at-bat.

Through seven tense pitches, the count ran to 3-2 with Miller lighting up the radar gun at 101 but failing to control his secondary pitches. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, he unleashed a wicked 89-mph slider that went low as Perdomo watched it go by. Unfortunately, home plate umpire Cory Blaser called him out. There is no ABS system in place at the WBC for Perdomo to challenge.

You be the judge:

WOW.

Miller gets the call and USA is going to the Final!! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/98RfvXKzHb
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 16, 2026

And in slow motion:

A tough call to end the game pic.twitter.com/klQgw8S8Q3
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 16, 2026

It’s a great pitch from Miller, but it was clearly low.

There’s no way to see it otherwise:

I didnt see it live. I saw it here. pic.twitter.com/Y2VKmvsMjT
— Trevor May (@IamTrevorMay) March 16, 2026

It was a terrible way for such a great game to end. Hopefully, ABS is implemented next time the tournament comes around. There’s no reason for it not to be.

To his credit, Dominican Republic manager Albert Pujols downplayed the call after the game. He said, “I don’t want to focus on the last pitch... I’m not going to criticize any of that. It wasn’t meant to be.”

A classy response from the future Hall of Famer.

Team USA advances in tense battle

The ending slightly marred what was an incredible game.

The United States is now on to its third consecutive WBC final after one of the better matchups we’ve ever seen at the tournament. The Dominican Republic entered the tournament as the team most likely to upset the U.S., and that remained true until the final out.

The Dominicans played with complete joy and utterly dominated their competition. They averaged more than 10 runs per game and will leave the tournament leading all teams in runs (52), home runs (15), batting average (.300), on-base percentage (.430), slugging (.595), and OPS (1.025). They were inarguably the best team in it until Sunday night.

Somehow, those powerful bats went silent against the United States, particularly its bullpen. The combination of Miller, Tyler Rogers, Griffin Jax, David Bednar and Garrett Whitlock held the Dominican Republic scoreless over 4 2/3 innings. They combined to allow only two hits and one walk while striking out six.

The U.S. will now get a day off and either face of rematch with Italy or an outstanding Venezuela team.

Italy beat the United States 8-6 last Tuesday and went on to win Pool B. They are 5-0 in the tournament so far and bested Puerto Rico 8-6 in the quarterfinals.

Venezuela upset Japan 8-5 on Saturday, ousting the defending champions in a shocker.

Everyone should be available for the United States on Tuesday night at loanDepot Park, and Mets rookie Nolan McLean is slated to start the game.

Team USA played an outstanding game Sunday night but got a little bit of help from the home plate umpire at the end.