It's down to the final four in baseball's version of March Madness. What has been an epic World Baseball Classic moves to the semifinal stage starting tonight, when Team USA and the Dominican Republic face off at 8 p.m. ET at loanDepot park in Miami with a trip to Tuesday's

It's the matchup everyone's been waiting for at the World Baseball Classic, the tournament's unstoppable force meeting its immovable object: Paul Skenes vs. the Dominican Republic lineup. "It’s going to be electric," United States pitcher Logan Webb said. "I expect it to be one of the best games of all

It’s the electric, bat-flipping brilliance of the Dominican Republic’s loaded lineup versus the electric, bat-defying brilliance of Paul Skenes’ right arm. It’s the intensity of Team USA, relishing in the bonding experience but also fully aware of the gold-or-bust stakes, versus the showmanship and looseness of a Dominican Republic club

MIAMI -- The champs are out at the World Baseball Classic. This was Venezuela's night. Venezuela took down Japan, the 2023 WBC champions, with an 8-5 come-from-behind win in the quarterfinals at loanDepot park on Saturday night. Wilyer Abreu crushed a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning off Hiromi

In the pages of the New York Times in the spring of 2005, a just-announced tournament to be known as the “World Baseball Classic” was being touted for one particular potential pairing. “Baseball’s first world cup will probably be decided,” David Leonhardt wrote, “by a matchup between one of the

Guardians infielder Brayan Rocchio is joining Team Italy for the World Baseball Classic ahead of the team’s semifinal matchup with Venezuela on Monday, manager Francisco Cervelli announced on Sunday. Rocchio replaces Mariners infielder Miles Mastrobuoni, who suffered a calf injury during Italy’s victory over the U.S. in pool play.

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Ask most starting pitchers, and they’ll say they don’t think about who’s starting on the mound for the opposing team. They don’t have to pitch to the guy, or worry about hitting him, so they’ll focus on their own game. But when Tarik Skubal realized earlier in

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Four weeks and four days after undergoing surgery to repair a stress reaction in his left hamate bone, Francisco Lindor returned to the field on Sunday for his Grapefruit League debut. The progress makes it overwhelmingly likely that Lindor will be ready for Opening Day.

The Dominican Republic has thoroughly dominated the World Baseball Classic, turning each contest into less of a game than a celebration of Dominican baseball and spirit. The team has smashed a tournament-best 14 home runs, hitters launching their bats with a joyous expulsion as the rest of the team spills

HOUSTON -- The afternoon start time at Daikin Park was conducive to a new, beautifully bizarre reality out in Italy. There, the locals could gather in the evening hours Saturday and converse not just about “calcio,” or soccer, while sipping on their espressos and digestivi but also lock in on

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Randy Arozarena returned to Mariners camp on Saturday morning ready to turn the page towards the regular season. He also preferred not speaking further on the exchange with Cal Raleigh at the World Baseball Classic, declining interview requests at the Peoria Sports Complex and instead issuing a

Put on the espresso because Italy is coming! For the first time in tournament history, the azzurri are in the semifinals, its team of espresso-shot-taking, cheek-kissing home run hitters blasting its way to Miami. Italy has hit the second-most home runs in the tournament behind the Dominican Republic, with Vinnie

Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Ronald Acuña Jr: This is the platonic ideal of the World Baseball Classic. With a nearly packed crowd at Miami’s loanDepot park, Saturday's quarterfinal matchup -- an 8-5 Venezuela win over Japan -- started with the reigning World Series MVP Award winner taking on the 2023 NL

TAMPA, Fla. -- A few hours before a sold-out crowd watched Max Fried’s latest Opening Day tuneup in New York's 6-4 loss to the Phillies on Saturday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field, many of those same fans piled into the bleachers on the other side of the Yankees’ complex

BRADENTON, Fla. -- When Paul Skenes takes the mound for Team USA on Sunday night in Miami, millions will watch the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner face a stacked Dominican Republic lineup in the World Baseball Classic semifinals (8 p.m. ET, FS1). The “Top Gun” theme will blare

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The few Phillies fans lucky enough to be at BayCare Ballpark on Saturday morning watched Zack Wheeler take his latest step toward his return to the rotation. Wheeler threw a live batting practice session.

JUPITER, Fla. -- Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker hasn’t been in the lineup the past three games because he has been working in the team’s hitting lab, which is located in the back fields at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Walker is currently going through swing changes in order to see

Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman will take Clayton Kershaw's place on Team USA's World Baseball Classic roster. The righty was added to the roster after the team's quarterfinal win over Canada on Friday night. Kershaw, who retired after last season, came out of retirement to participate in the Classic but

TAMPA, Fla. – It’s a known part of the Yankees' prospect culture: Just because you were scouted and signed by the organization does not mean you’ll play for the team in New York. For a team always trying to win, and willing to bring in whatever big leaguers necessary to

PHOENIX – If Jacob Misiorowski gets the nod for the Brewers to start Opening Day against the White Sox, he would be one of the greenest pitchers in franchise history to get that honor. He would also be one of the most electric. For the record: the Brewers have made

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tigers took a relatively laid-back approach to the ABS Challenge System for the first half of Grapefruit League play. It wasn’t that manager A.J. Hinch and his coaches didn’t care; they wanted to see how players handled the option to challenge on their own. On Friday,

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- The best things happening to the Blue Jays aren’t happening in Dunedin. The World Baseball Classic is bringing out the biggest, brightest, loudest version of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and it’s only the middle of March. One of baseball’s greatest showmen is starting early.

MESA, Ariz. -- You never want to peak too early, but with a little over a week of Spring Training left, it’s hard to imagine Shea Langeliers ever being more locked in than he was on Saturday afternoon. One day after the A’s offense exploded for four home runs in