Bryce Harper one step closer to winning a title after Team USA tops Domincan Republic to reach World Baseball Classic finals
Harper interrupted a 3-for-21, eight-strikeout hibernation with a hustle double against Dominican starter Luis Severino in the third inning.
MIAMI — Let it be said, here and now and every day of his 15th major league season, that Bryce Harper needs to win the World Series more than any player in baseball.
Not much he can do about that until October.
Right now, though, there’s another prize dangling in front of the Phillies star. It’s as close as can be, too, after the most talented roster of Americans ever assembled eked out a 2-1 nail-biter Sunday night against the muscle-flexing Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic semifinal.
So, Team USA — with Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and reliever Brad Keller on loan from the Phillies — will stay together another couple of days and face Venezuela or upstart Italy in the final here Tuesday night.
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The U.S.-D.R. showdown was every bit the “spectacle” that American manager Mark DeRosa predicted, leaving a pro-Dominican and ear-splittingly loud sellout crowd of 36,337 screaming until the very end.
Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony hit solo homers in a three-batter span of the fourth inning to account for Team USA’s offense. The seemingly unstoppable Dominican lineup was silenced, save for Junior Caminero’s solo homer in the second inning, by Paul Skenes and five relievers.
At times, the game seemed like a skills competition. Aaron Judge uncorked a gorgeous throw from right field to cut down a Dominican runner at third base in the third inning. Julio Rodríguez leaped at the wall to rob Judge of a homer in the fifth inning.
Then, there was Harper. Cold as this Philly winter for most of the two-week tournament, he interrupted a 3-for-21, eight-strikeout hibernation with a hustle double against Dominican starter Luis Severino in the third inning.
In the fifth, Harper pumped his right arm after taking the throw from shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to complete a rally-killing double play in the fifth inning, an outward sign of how much every out meant to American players who are more reserved on the field than the festive Dominicans.
“I can’t dance a lick like Tatís can,“ Harper said, referring to D.R. right fielder Fernando Tatís Jr., ”but I have fun playing this game.”
Harper has played it in the majors for nearly half his life. He’s been to the playoffs in eight of 14 years, including the least four seasons with the Phillies. The closest he’s come to a championship was Game 6 of the World Series in 2022. The Nationals, his first team, won the World Series in 2019, the year after he left for the Phillies.
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So, yes, there’s pressure on Harper to win it all. He was downright playful before the game in a news conference with Judge and Witt. A few highlights:
Asked about the expectation of a boisterous crowd in Miami, Harper deferred to Witt, the Royals star. “Bobby, you take it,” Harper said, “because it’s probably going to feel like Kansas City tonight.”
Judge mentioned that he was so excited for the showdown with the D.R. that he took dry swings in his hotel room Saturday night. When a reporter asked a follow-up, Harper interjected, “You don’t talk in the microphone in front of the mirror before you come here? I mean, come on, man.”
And in response to a question directed at all three players about how the U.S. could possibly silence a Dominican lineup that set a tournament record with 15 homers in six games, Harper said, “Oh, Paul Skenes is going to be the stopper.”
Skenes recorded 13 outs in 71 pitches before reaching his pitch limit in preparation for the season with the Pirates. But relievers Tyler Rogers, Griffin Jax, David Bednar, Garrett Whitlock, and closer Mason Miller passed the baton for 14 outs.
Miller struck out D.R. shortstop Geraldo Perdomo looking for the last out on a slider that was clearly below the strike zone. But the WBC isn’t using the automated ball-strike system that will be instituted in the majors this season.
And after umpire Cory Blaser rung up Perdomo, Harper chest-bumped Witt in the middle of the infield.
There’s a championship for Harper to win Tuesday night. It isn’t the World Series, but it’s a start.