Yankees' Historic 20-game Win Streak Falls to Shocking Loss That Defines a Turbulent Year
The one-time champs are back in the title game, but can they seal the deal?
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 15: Gunnar Henderson #11 of Team United States celebrates with Aaron Judge #99 after hitting a solo home run against Team Dominican Republic during the fourth inning at loanDepot park on March 15, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images) | Getty Images The World Baseball Classic gave us another game that lived up to the title of the tournament on Sunday, with the United States taking down the Dominican Republic in a narrow 2-1 nailbiter. It had some incredible moments — both on offense with Junior Caminero, Gunnar Henderson, and Roman Anthony all going deep, and on defense with Aaron Judge firing a laser to throw out Fernando Tatís Jr.
at third earlier in the game. It also had its fair share of controversy, namely the final pitch that Mason Miller threw to Geraldo Perdomo to end the game, a called strike that looked well below the zone to… just about everyone else except the home umpire. Regardless, the US is now in their third straight championship game after winning in 2017 and falling in 2023, and they’ll face either Venezuela or Italy after the former upset Japan and the latter outlasted Puerto Rico.
With one tournament favorite dropping out early and another bested by their own hands, it’d be fair to say that the US is now the heavy favorites to win it all. It’s far from a slam dunk, however. The Italians are responsible for the Americans’ lone loss this tournament, jumping out to an 8-0 lead before the US clawed back enough runs to make it a contest late and bring Aaron Judge up to the plate as the tying run.
Unfortunately for them, the Captain couldn’t get the job done in that moment, striking out to end the game. There was controversy over that game as well — US manager Mark DeRosa apparently didn’t realize they hadn’t clinched a quarterfinal spot yet and rested a couple starters before the massive deficit came in and they needed to close the gap to survive a potential tiebreaker had Mexico beaten Italy. Still, even with the lesser lineup Italy jumped all over Nolan McLean… who is scheduled to start the championship game.