Former LSU star Paul Skenes to pitch for Team USA in World Baseball Classic semifinal
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The World Baseball Classic is rolling on into its semifinal phase, with two games over the course of Sunday and Monday set to decide who reaches Tuesday’s championship bout.
Up first is Team USA squaring off with the red-hot Dominican Republic, and the Americans will utilize a familiar face in an attempt to cool off the visitors.
LSU alum Paul Skenes will be taking to the mound for Team USA, as the former Bayou Bengal is arguably the best pitcher left in the bracket and thus the field’s best chance at slowing down the Dominicans.
In 5 games thus far, the Dominican Republic has ripped off 14 homers and 51 runs in total, allowing them to largely cruise the group stage and dominate Korea in a 10-0 quarterfinal victory.
But Skenes has already picked up a win in this tournament, allowing just 1 hit in 4 innings pitched to go along with 7 strikeouts. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ ace will be charged with producing one of the best performances of his career in arguably the biggest game he’s ever played in.
The Americans will face the Dominicans at 8 p.m. ET in Miami, with the game being broadcast by FOX.
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Parker is currently the sports editor for the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
