Team USA is moving on to the championship game in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. The Americans won a tense semifinal showdown against the Dominican Republic on Sunday night in Miami. Team USA notched a 2-1 win over the D.R. as Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony hit solo home runs, and the American pitching staff quieted a star-studded lineup that was red-hot throughout the tournament.<\/p>\n
On the other side of the bracket, Italy continued its unbeaten run on Saturday. The Italians knocked Puerto Rico out with an 8-6 win in Houston. In the last quarterfinal bout, Venezuela knocked out Shohei Ohtani and the reigning champions, Japan<\/a>, in an 8-5 upset on Saturday night.<\/p>\n Either Italy or Venezuela will meet Team USA for the title on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n Here’s a look at the 2026 World Baseball Classic bracket:<\/p>\n 2026 World Baseball Classic bracket Team USA’s advancement out of pool play was more nerve-wracking than expected, but the Americans are through to the semifinals thanks to Italy’s win over Mexico on Wednesday night. Team USA lost to Italy on Tuesday and had to sweat out Wednesday’s result. A narrow Mexico win would’ve sent the Americans packing.<\/p>\n Team USA finished in second place in Pool B, going 3-1 in group play. The U.S. easily beat Brazil and Great Britain before a close win over Mexico. The Americans then shockingly lost to Italy on Tuesday and set up a scenario where their quarterfinal fate was out of their hands. Italy, though, finished off a perfect round of pool play by beating Mexico to earn first place in Pool B. Italy’s win over Mexico prevented the knockout spots from being determined by the complicated WBC tiebreaker rules<\/a>.<\/p>\n World Baseball Classic knockout scores, schedule\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n World Baseball Classic\/MLB<\/p>\n