3 moments that decided USA-Dominican Republic Classic semifinal

Baseball is a game of inches, and that was evident throughout Team USA’s thrilling 2-1 win over the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic semifinals on Sunday night in Miami.

Yes, the classic contest ended with a disputed called third strike against Dominican Republic shortstop Geraldo Perdomo -- but despite that call, there were a handful of plays the Dominican squad didn't execute (or the U.S. did) that played key roles in the outcome.

Here are three pivotal moments that decided the outcome of Sunday’s semifinal.

Tatis thrown out at third

Fernando Tatis Jr. learned the hard way on Sunday: Don’t run on Aaron Judge.

The Padres outfielder and Dominican Republic leadoff man attempted to steal an extra 90 feet against Team USA and starter Paul Skenes in the third inning, aiming to go from first to third base on teammate Ketel Marte’s single to right field. But Judge picked up the ball when Tatis was barely at second, firing a perfect strike to third baseman Gunnar Henderson for the final out of the frame.

Tatis’ unsuccessful try violated the baseball adage “never make the first or last out at third base,” although it took quite a heave from Judge to nab him -- a 95.7 mph laser from the Team USA captain. Instead of a Juan Soto at-bat with runners on first and second, an excellent scoring chance, Tatis’ mistake (and Judge's great throw) bailed out Skenes and Team USA and ended the threat.

Witt turns two

In the fifth, another huge scoring threat was rebuffed for the Dominican Republic, which was held to only one run -- on a Junior Caminero homer -- after averaging more than 10 runs in its first five WBC games. (The Dominican Republic also came up empty in the fourth inning despite loading the bases with two away.)

Soto, the No. 3 hitter for the Dominican squad, came up with two on and one out in the fifth inning, a similar spot to the one he could have faced in the third had Tatis stayed at second base. Team USA manager Mark DeRosa went to the bullpen, summoning right-handed submarine pitcher Tyler Rogers to give Soto a different look.

The move worked perfectly: Soto bounced a ground ball up the middle, and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. snagged the chopper just to the right side of the second-base bag. Witt sprinted to second and fired a perfect throw to first to complete a 4-3 double play, slamming the door shut on another potential big inning for the Dominican Republic. It was the latest in a string of highlight-reel plays by Witt, the Royals’ star shortstop, during the WBC.

Seventh-inning stress

Marte had been enjoying a solid World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic, slugging a home run in a key win over Venezuela to close out pool play and even lining two singles off Skenes in Sunday’s semifinal.

But the second baseman was bested at a crucial time Sunday, going down swinging against Team USA reliever David Bednar in the seventh inning with the U.S. leading, 2-1, and runners on second and third. Marte fouled off the first pitch and swung through the second to put himself in an 0-2 hole, then chased a 1-2 curveball below the zone for strike three to end the threat.

It was a disappointing end to the inning for the Dominican Republic, which got a one-out double from catcher Austin Wells, then a single from Perdomo. But Wells -- who possesses below-average sprint speed -- could not score from second base. With another catcher on the roster in Agustín Ramírez, Dominican Republic manager Albert Pujols could have opted to replace Wells with a pinch-runner but chose not to do so, a decision that might have cost his squad. Tatis and Marte both struck out, cutting short what turned out to be the best scoring threat the Dominican team had for the rest of the game.