Team USA advances to WBC championship with dominant pitching performance

There is a long-time school of thought in baseball that in the biggest games, when all of the chips are on the table, great pitching beats great hitting. It might be an anecdotal example, but the United States proved that mindset true on Sunday with a 2-1 win over the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic semifinal. 

That win puts the U.S. in the championship game of the tournament, where it will play the winner of Monday's Venezuela-Italy game. 

Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony provided the offense for the U.S. with a pair of solo home runs in the fourth inning. The pitching staff did the rest.

Team USA silences the impressive bats of the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic entered Sunday's game with one of the most imposing lineups in the tournament, averaging more than 10 runs per game. While they had some base-runners and opportunities to break through offensively, they simply could not get the big hit.

They missed opportunities against USA starter Paul Skenes early in the game.

They missed big opportunities against the bullpen after Skenes left the game. 

Three big moments ultimately swung the game in the U.S.'s favor.

The first came in the bottom of the third inning, with the Dominican Republic already leading 1-0, when Aaron Judge threw a perfect strike from right field to get Fernando Tatis Jr. for the third out of the inning.