USA advances to WBC championship after controversial call, Italy & Venezuela fight for finals bid

The United States are returning to the championship game of the World Baseball Classic for a third consecutive tournament. However, in what was billed as one of the most star-studded baseball games ever played, the tightly contested matchup ended in a controversial strike three call that has left Dominican Republic players and fans shaking their heads.

On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman talk about Team USA’s 2–1 victory that saw Paul Skenes and a dominant U.S. bullpen shut down the high-octane offense from the DR that we’ve seen all tournament. They then get into the strike three call to end the game and why ABS is something that needs to be implemented when the tournament returns in three years.

Later, Jake and Jordan preview the semifinal game between Italy and Venezuela that will decide who books their ticket to the championship game against the United States. The guys also discuss Japan getting upset in the quarterfinals by Venezuela and why it wasn’t entirely shocking that it happened.

1:56 – The Opener: America vs. DR
11:41 – Aaron Judge’s game-changing play
33:02 – Controversial 9th inning
40:57 – Did the game live up to the hype?
1:01:33 – Japan eliminated
1:04:34 – Italy vs. Venezuela preview

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