Commentary: U.S. reaches WBC final, but struggles at the plate threaten its title hopes

"U.S. batters struck out 15 times, walked once, and went hitless with runners in scoring position. None of their final 13 batters got a hit. Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony each hit solo home runs in the fourth inning, and five relievers shut out the Dominican over the final 4⅔ innings."

"Can the Venezuelans beat the U.S.? They eliminated Japan, their leadoff batter is Ronald Acuna Jr., and they are outslugging the U.S. Can the Italians beat the U.S.? They already did, in pool play. They have hit more home runs than the U.S., in fewer games."

""That was high-level baseball at its finest," U.S. manager Mark DeRosa said. High-level baseball, no doubt. It was the heavyweight match, the WBC game everyone wanted to see. At its finest, well, the Americans better hope not."

The United States secured a spot in the World Baseball Classic championship game by defeating the Dominican Republic 2-1 in a semifinal matchup. Despite the victory, the U.S. offense performed poorly, with batters striking out 15 times, walking once, and failing to record hits with runners in scoring position. Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony each hit solo home runs in the fourth inning, while five relievers shut out the Dominican Republic over the final 4⅔ innings. The U.S. will face either Venezuela or Italy in Tuesday's championship game. Manager Mark DeRosa acknowledged the team still needs its offense to "explode," as the performance fell short of championship-caliber baseball despite the win.

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