USA Advances to Classic Semifinals After Defeating Canada, Set for Epic Showdown Against Dominican Republic

Following a challenging path, Team USA's World Baseball Classic campaign remains alive. Today at Minute Maid Park in Houston, the U.S. team beat Canada 5-3 in the quarterfinal, clinching a semifinal berth. They will face the Dominican Republic in a highly anticipated clash of powerhouses next Monday in Miami, where Paul Skenes will take on the Dominican lineup, the most explosive offense in the tournament.

Surprisingly, the star-studded U.S. lineup appeared relatively subdued, while Canada's pitching staff successfully accomplished the difficult task of keeping them within the confines of the home run fence.

Motivated by an inspirational video message from Olympic hockey gold medal hero Jack Hughes, Team USA seized an early lead and held onto it. Starting pitcher Logan Webb set the tone, throwing 4.2 scoreless innings on 71 pitches, allowing only 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5.

Team USA received offensive support right from the start. In the top of the first inning, Bobby Witt Jr. walked, and Aaron Judge hit a double, putting two runners in scoring position. Kyle Schwarber's ground ball to the right side allowed Witt to score, giving the U.S. a 1-0 lead. In the third inning, Team USA extended the lead to 3-0. With two outs and runners on first and second, Alex Bregman hit a soft ground ball; Canadian third baseman Abraham Toro fielded it but made an error on the throw to first, allowing both runners to score.

Soroka could not complete the third inning, forcing Canada to rely on a bullpen with limited MLB experience. Team USA capitalized in the sixth inning, adding two more runs. Brice Turang hit a line-drive single up the middle to bring in Roman Anthony, followed by Pete Crow-Armstrong's single that scored Cal Raleigh, widening the lead to 5-0.

Canada broke the shutout in the bottom of the sixth with a single by Tyler Black. Later, catcher Bo Naylor's powerful home run narrowed the gap to 3-5. Drama unfolded in the seventh inning when a rare passed ball allowed Canada to have runners on second and third with no outs. However, reliever David Bednar steadied the situation, retiring three consecutive batters to escape the threat. Finally, Garrett Whitlock and Mason Miller combined to preserve the victory, securing Team USA's advancement to the semifinals.