USA Baseball’s Heart-Pounding Semifinals: Bat-ting Bliss for Enthusiastic Audiences!

Team USA and the Dominican Republic are headed for a semifinal showdown in the World Baseball Classic Sunday night at loanDepot Park in Miami (8 p. m. , FS1).

And Team USA manager Mark DeRosa is expecting a doozy. “I expect it to be one of the best games of all time,” DeRosa said, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, following Team USA’s 5-3 quarterfinal victory over Canada. Reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates takes the hill for Team USA, while former Yankees and Mets hurler Luis Severino pitches for the Dominican Republic, which mercy-ruled South Korea, 10-0, in seven innings on Friday.

After the game, Dominican fans chanted in Spanish, “We want the USA. ” The Dominican team features a loaded lineup with Juan Soto , Vladimir Guerrero Jr. , Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis and Austin Wells.

This will be a showdown of star power and powerful lineups. Team USA is 4-1 in the tournament and has hit seven home runs and scored 40 runs. The Dominican Republic is a perfect 5-0 with 14 homers and 50 runs.