J-Rod flips the script on USA, robbing Judge at the wall

MIAMI – In the bottom of the fourth inning, Dominican Republic center fielder Julio Rodríguez was drilled in the hand by a Paul Skenes fastball.

A half-inning later and any lingering pain had surely disappeared. With one out in the top of the fifth inning of the World Baseball Classic semifinals against the Dominican Republic, USA right fielder and captain Aaron Judge launched a fly ball to center field. It left the bat at 109.9 mph and looked like trouble on impact. But that matters little to a player like Rodríguez.

The center fielder raced back and leapt at the wall, coming back down with Judge’s drive in the webbing of his mitt. When he landed, he released a scream that – somehow – matched the energy of the majority Dominican crowd at the ballpark. He crossed his arms in an X and left fielder Juan Soto met him at the warning track for an emphatic chest bump.

There's a history of incredible home run robberies when the USA and Dominican Republic meet in the World Baseball Classic -- you might recall Adam Jones taking one away from Manny Machado in 2017 -- and Rodríguez turned that around on the Americans with another memorable catch at the wall. It wouldn't end up carrying quite the same heft as Jones' grab, though, with the Dominicans ultimately falling in this game, 2-1.