Dominican Republic frustrated by game-ending call in loss to USA - ESPN

MIAMI — Two hours after a blown ball-strike call ended the Dominican Republic's World Baseball Classic, players emerged from the team's clubhouse with smiles, music and a message.

The smiles covered the pain of the 2-1 loss Sunday night that sent Team USA to the WBC finals, the music followed them as they walked down the hall at LoanDepot Park and to the team bus, and the message came from star Juan Soto, who preferred to look at the whole of the tournament rather than its final game.

«We showed the world who's the best team in baseball,» Soto told ESPN. «That's all I got to say.»

Soto's frustration, as well as his teammates', was palpable after home-plate umpire Cory Blaser called a full-count slider from U.S. closer Mason Miller for a strike against D.R. shortstop Geraldo Perdomo despite the pitch being clearly below the zone. The call came one inning after Soto was caught looking on a slider that was also below the zone, though not to the extent of Perdomo, who had worked a brilliant seven-pitch at-bat before the eighth ended the Dominicans' dreams of bringing home a WBC championship.

«I knew 100% it was a ball,» Perdomo told ESPN. «I knew it.»

While the Americans celebrated what otherwise was a taut, tense and elite display of baseball between the two most talented countries in the world, the ending left a sour taste for Dominicans to whom the WBC is of Olympic-level importance. Even more frustrating was that the automated ball-strike challenge system — which will debut in Major League Baseball this season to address such blown calls — is not being used in the WBC.

In 2023, the year the pitch clock was introduced in MLB, the WBC did not implement it, either. For ABS to work accurately in MLB this season, the league