The game: The United States survived a shaky start, avoided losing control of the game early, and held on to their biggest victory in the WBC in eight years.
Team USA, which trailed 2-0 in the first inning and in danger of going down 4-0 by the second, watched its bullpen suffocate rallies virtually every inning, with Giancarlo Stanton hitting the deciding blow with a monstrous two-run home run that broke open a 2-2 tie in the fourth inning.,
They are going to the championship round for the first time since 2009, joining Puerto Rico out of their pool. They will play Japan in the semifinal game Tuesday at Dodger Stadium. The other semifinal game will be Monday between undefeated Puerto Rico and the Netherlands.
Team USA wiggled out of jams throughout the gamer to seize the victory, with the Dominican Republic putting runners on base every inning, and in four innings having runners in scoring position. Yet, inning after inning, USA escaped, using four relievers - Pat Neshek, Clippard, Sam Dyson and Luke Gregerson - to close out the game.
The offensive hero of the game was Stanton, who had been kept out of the starting lineup the last two games, and hitting just .100 in the tournament. He finally struck, launching a two-out, two-run homer into the second deck of the Western Metal Supply Co in the left-field corner for a 4-2 lead in the top of the fourth inning.
The defensive star was USA center fielder Adam Jones, who went to the deepest part of the ballpark, and reached over the fence to snag a home run away from Manny Machado, his Baltimore Orioles teammate, in the bottom of the seventh. Machado, showing his deepest respect, waved his helmet in appreciation, acknowledge the tremendous catch.
The sellout crowd certainly showed their appreciation for the San Diego native, chanting "A-dam Jones! A-dam Jones!" And the catch loomed large moments later when Robinson Cano shot a home run to left field off Tyler Clippard, cutting the USA advantage to 4-3.
"Off the bat, I'm like, 'Manny got him,'" Jones said in a postgame TV interview. "But I knew that California air would slow it down some."
State of Pool F: Team USA, which has reached the championship round just once in its WBC history, finally is going back, hoping to bring home the gold.
USA, which has never finished higher than fourth in the WBC, will play Japan on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium in the semifinal game and expected to start Tanner Roark of the Washington Nationals.
The powerful Dominican Republic, the defending World Baseball Classic champions, and winners of 12 of its last 13 games, is going home.
Pivot point: The Dominican Republic was threatening to blow the game open in the second inning, leading 2-0, and putting runners on second and third with no outs, and the top of their order due up. USA starter Danny Duffy, the Kansas City Royals’ opening-day starter, got Jose Reyes to pop up to second base and Machado to hit a shallow fly to center. And then Robinson Cano ended the inning with a routine grounder to short.
Team USA used the momentum to tie the game, 2-2, in the top of the third with an RBI groundout by Ian Kinsler and run-scoring double by Christian Yelich.
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