Dominican Republic clinch LA28 Olympic berth, to face USA in World Baseball Classic semifinal
The Dominican Republic advanced to the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic with a 10-0, seven-inning win over Korea. They will face USA, who defeated Canada 5-3, on Sunday at 20:00 local time in Miami (00:00 GMT Monday).
The Dominican Republic became the first team to qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games through competition, joining host nation USA in the six-team baseball tournament at Dodger Stadium.
The world No. 12 is guaranteed one of the two LA28 tickets available to the best teams from the Americas (excluding already qualified USA) at the World Baseball Classic by advancing to the semifinals following their quarterfinal win over Korea.
Their winning percentage** (5-0) is superior to either of the other two Americas’ teams still in contention - Puerto Rico (3-1) and Venezuela (3-1). The worst the Dominican Republic could finish is as a losing semifinalist and if both Puerto Rico and Venezuela also reach the semifinals, the losing semifinalist will finish behind the Dominican Republic based on the winning percentage**.
The LA28 Games will be the Dominican Republic national baseball team’s third participation in the Olympic Games, after competing at Barcelona 1992 and Tokyo 2020. They are one of seven nations to have won an Olympic medal in baseball, claiming bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Games in Yokohama Stadium. The Dominicans defeated Korea, 10-6, in the bronze medal game, earning the country's first-ever medal in a team sport.
Outfielder Julio Rodríguez is the only member of the Tokyo 2020 team participating in the World Baseball Classic. He hit .417 during the Olympic tournament, with one home run, four RBIs and two doubles in six games.
The second team from the Americas to qualify for LA28 will be the highest-placed team between Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Canada at the end of the World Baseball Classic. Puerto Rico and Venezuela will play their quarterfinal games on Saturday against Italy and Japan, respectively.
The WBSC Premier12 2027 will qualify the highest-placed team from Asia and the highest-placed team from Europe or Oceania.
A Final Qualification Event, to be held no later than March 2028, will determine the last team.
** The World Baseball Classic ranking applicable criteria (in order of priority) are:
- Winning percentage, considering all games played in the competition
- Head-to-head result against all tied teams (if applicable)
- Runs allowed per recorded defensive out, considering all games played in the competition
- Earned runs allowed per recorded defensive out, considering all games played in the competition
- Overall team batting average
World Baseball Classic Day 8
| Korea-Dominican Republic | 0-10 | BOX SCORE |
| USA-Canada | 5-3 | BOX SCORE |
QUARTERFINALS
Dominican Republic-Korea 10-0
The Dominican Republic became the first semifinalist of the World Baseball Classic 2026, defeating Korea, 10-0, in seven innings.
The Dominican Republic jumped ahead in the bottom of the second inning with a three-run rally. Junior Caminero doubled in Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who scored with a spectacular head-first slide at home to give the Dominicans a 1-0 lead. Caminero later scored on a groundout by Julio Rodríguez to shortstop. Fernando Tatis Jr. added the third run with an RBI single.
One inning later, the Dominicans added four runs on an RBI double by Guerrero Jr., a two-run single by Manny Machado and a bases-loaded walk by Tatis Jr.
In the bottom of the seventh, Austin Wells ended the game by the run rule with a three-run homer, also scoring Machado and Rodríguez.
Cristopher Sánchez earned the win. The La Romana native and 2024 MLB All-Star struck out eight over five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk. Albert Abreu followed with two perfect innings in relief, striking out three.
With the victory, the Dominican Republic advanced to Sunday’s semifinal.
USA-Canada 5-3
USA defeated Canada 5-3, and qualified for the World Baseball Classic 2026 semifinals.
USA took the lead in the first inning. Bobby Witt Jr. walked, moved to third on a double by Aaron Judge and scored on an RBI groundout by Kyle Schwarber to first base.
In the third, USA extended their lead to 3-0. They loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk, and Alex Bregman hit a grounder to third that Abraham Toro stopped with a diving play, but his throw went wide, allowing two runs to score.
USA increased their lead in the sixth inning with RBI singles by Brice Turang and Pete Crow-Armstrong to make it 5-0.
Canada answered in the bottom half of the sixth with an RBI single by Tyler Black and a 404-foot two-run homer by Bo Naylor into the second deck in right field, to make it a two-run game.
Canada put two runners on in the seventh with no outs, but USA pitcher David Bednar recovered, inducing a pop-up from Josh Naylor and striking out Tyler O’Neill and Owen Caissie to escape the inning unscathed.
Logan Webb, the National League strikeout leader in 2025, earned the win after pitching 4.2 scoreless innings, striking out five while allowing four hits and one walk.
Looking ahead to Day 9
On Saturday, March 14, Italy will face Puerto Rico for a spot in the semifinals; while Venezuela and Japan will face each other in the last quarterfinal. Puerto Rico and Venezuela must win to keep their LA28 Olympic ticket dreams alive.
LA 2028 Qualification Process
The 2026 World Baseball Classic also forms part of the qualification pathway to the LA28 Olympic Games. The baseball tournament at the Olympics will feature six teams, and while USA are already qualified as hosts, the two highest-placed teams from the Americas at the World Baseball Classic will also earn quota places at LA28.
The Dominican Republic punched their ticket to LA28 tonight, while Puerto Rico and Venezuela will decide their fate tomorrow in their quarterfinal games against Italy and Japan, respectively.
Cover Photo: WBCI/MLB Photos by Getty Images
Categories: Baseball , Baseball Olympic Games 2028 , Olympic Baseball , Olympics , World Baseball Classic
