{"id":2580322,"date":"2026-03-16T11:38:56","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T15:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-usa-advances-to-world-baseball-classic-championship-on-controversial-final-play\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T11:41:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T15:41:43","slug":"watch-usa-advances-to-world-baseball-classic-championship-on-controversial-final-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-usa-advances-to-world-baseball-classic-championship-on-controversial-final-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch: USA Advances to World Baseball Classic Championship on Controversial Final Play"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwatch-usa-advances-to-world-baseball-classic-championship-on-controversial-final-play%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2580322&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In a World Baseball Classic semifinal in Miami, the United States defeated the Dominican Republic 2-1 to advance to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/los-angeles-county-orders-restaurants-to-keep-tvs-off-as-outdoor-dining-resumes-and-super-bowl-approaches\/\" title=\"Los Angeles County Orders Restaurants To Keep TVs Off As Outdoor Dining Resumes And Super Bowl ...proaches\">championship game<\/a> against Venezuela or Italy. The decisive moment came when plate umpire Cory Blaser called strike three on Mason Miller wiht the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mlb-roundup-phils-alex-bohm-homers-twice-zack-wheeler-blanks-cards\/\" title=\"... roundup: Phils\u2019 Alex Bohm homers twice, Zack Wheeler blanks Cards\">potential tying run<\/a> at third, a call Geraldo perdomo angrily contested, later saying he knew it was wrong. Perdomo and others highlighted the human element of umpires, while teammates like Pete Crow-Armstrong and bryce Harper weighed in on the situation. Miller delivered a high-velocity effort, with 13 of his 22 pitches reaching 100 mph or more, as the U.S. benefitted from key moments including a walk to Julio Rodr\u00edguez and a wild pitch that moved runners. the game occurred amid MLB\u2019s looming Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system, which is set to debut in 2026 and could be used in future WBCs; many players noted the possibility of robot umpires, though the U.S. emphasized the value of human officiating in this game. The article also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-justices-simple-question-blows-gaping-hole-in-transgender-athletes-case-16\/\" title=\"Supreme Court Justice&#039;s Simple Question Blows G...ing Hole in Transgender Athlete&#039;s Case\">includes social-media reactions<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >standard publication notes<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Ten days later, the United States and the Dominican Republic would have kept on playing.<\/p>\n<p>Geraldo Perdomo watched Mason Miller&rsquo;s full-count slider appear to drop just under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/instant-replay-giveth-instant-replay-taketh-away\/\" title=\"Instant Replay Giveth, Instant Replay Taketh Away\">strike zone<\/a> and took a step toward his team&rsquo;s dugout on the third-base side, thinking he walked to put runners at the corners.<\/p>\n<p>Then plate umpire Cory Blaser emphatically signaled strike three, stranding the potential tying run at third base and giving the United States a 2-1 win Sunday night that advanced the Americans to the World Baseball Classic championship game against Venezuela or Italy.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He knew he was wrong,&rdquo; Perdomo said. &ldquo;I knew it was 100 percent wrong.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">WOW.<\/p>\n<p>Miller gets the call and USA is going to the Final!! &#127482;&#127480; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/98RfvXKzHb\">pic.twitter.com\/98RfvXKzHb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLBONFOX\/status\/2033379110144368774?\">March 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Major League Baseball&rsquo;s Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System will launch when the season starts March 25, and it likely will be adopted for future editions of the WBC. The Dominicans would have been able to appeal to the so-called robot umpire if they had a challenge remaining.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It looked a little down. Yes, I&rsquo;m glad we had no ABS,&rdquo; U.S. outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy that the human element was in full effect.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Perdomo heard the call, found it hard to believe, and while still holding his bat lurched it overhead in an arc, nearly tapping the wood against his butt.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t lose the game there,&rdquo; the Arizona star said.<\/p>\n<p>MLB announced in September that ABS will be used during the regular season and postseason in 2026 following testing that started in the minor leagues in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to focus on the last pitch,&rdquo; Dominican manager Albert Pujols said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m disappointed about the way that the game ends, but I don&rsquo;t want to criticize any of that. It just wasn&rsquo;t meant to be for us.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Miller threw 13 of 22 pitches at 100 mph or higher. He gave up a one-out walk to Julio Rodr&iacute;guez, who advanced to third on a wild pitch and Oneil Cruz&rsquo;s groundout.<\/p>\n<p>Perdomo fell behind 1-2, worked the count full, then fouled out a pair of triple-digit heaters. Miller followed with his second slider of the at-bat.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He called strike three. That&rsquo;s all I care,&rdquo; American first baseman Bryce Harper said.<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p><em>AP MLB: <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/mlb\">https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/MLB<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Miami, the United States held off the Dominican Republic 2-1 to reach the World Baseball Classic final, where they would face Venezuela or Italy. With one out in the late inning, Geraldo Perdomo watched Mason Miller\u2019s 100-plus mph slider appear to miss just below the strike zone and walked toward the dugout, thinking the pitch had loaded the bases. But plate umpire Cory Blaser called strike three, leaving the potential tying run at third and giving the U.S. the win. Perdomo later said he knew the call was wrong. The victory sent the Americans to the championship game.<\/p>\n<p>The story notes that Major League Baseball\u2019s Automated Ball-Strike Challenge system would be in use this season and is likely to be adopted in future WBCs. The Dominican team could have challenged the call if they had any challenges left. Pete Crow-Armstrong said he was glad the human element remained. Miller had already thrown many fastballs at or above 100 mph; after issuing a one-out walk to Julio Rodr\u00edguez and allowing Rodr\u00edguez to advance on a wild pitch, Oneil Cruz grounded out. Perdomo then battled through a full count, fouling off two more 100+ mph pitches, before Miller ended the at\u2011bat with another slider for strike three. Bryce Harper praised the final call. The report also notes remarks from Albert Pujols and the plan to use ABS in MLB in 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2580323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cd98f879a56f4ccbb90d13c7ecb12d17-scaled-e1773668702953.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[57633,13659,75888,14541,75500],"class_list":["post-2580322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-baseball-news","tag-championship","tag-controversial-final-play","tag-usa","tag-world-baseball-classic"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cd98f879a56f4ccbb90d13c7ecb12d17-scaled-e1773668702953.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2580322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2580322"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2580322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2580328,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2580322\/revisions\/2580328"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2580323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2580322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2580322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2580322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}