After their historic loss to Italy, the United States got back on track as they advance to the semi-finals for the third straight time at the WBC (2023, 2017), fourth total.
Brice Turang led the US at the plate, going 2-for-3. Meanwhile, Logan Webb gave up 0 runs on 4 hits through 4.2 innings with 5 strikeouts.
In the earlier game, the Dominican Republic defeated South Korea 10-0, where Junior Caminero shined as his squad gets ready to take on the US.
Recap and highlights
It did not take the Americans very long to get on the board, with Bobby Witt Jr scoring from a Kyle Schwarber ground out.
Then, after a scoreless second, the US scored two more in the third. With the bases loaded, Alex Bregman hit a single off a ground ball, bringing home Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge.
The Canadians managed four hits early on, but could not get anyone to score. That proved to be costly for them, as they stayed 3-0 down until the fifth inning.
Neither team scored in the third or fourth, before a Turang single at the top of the fifth brought home Roman Anthony. Then, Pete Crowe-Armstrong followed suit by hitting a line-drive single of his own, with Cal Raleigh getting to home plate.
Canada got on the board in the bottom of the sixth, when Tyler Black's single on a line drive gave Owen Caissie the opportunity to get home, which he took. That inspired a pitching change for the Americans, as Gabe Speier replaced Brad Keller.
The change did not have the effect the Americans were hoping for though, as the very next batter, Bo Naylor, took Keller for a homer in right-center field. The two runs brought the Canada to within two.
The seventh inning might have been the decisive one, as Canada had runners on second and third with zero outs. However, pitcher Gabe Speier, who came in at this inning, managed to get three strikeouts in a row to preserve the US lead.
From there, the US were able to hold on, as Canada did not get another batter on base. Garrett Whitlock and Mason Miller struck out all six batters faced in the final two innings to give the US the win.