MIAMI -- Team USA is headed back to the World Baseball Classic final after a heart-pounding 2-1 victory over the Dominican Republic on Sunday night at loanDepot park, punching their ticket to the championship game for the third straight edition of the tournament.

The game was a showcase of elite pitching and timely power hitting, with three solo home runs accounting for all the scoring in a contest that kept a raucous, largely pro-Dominican crowd on the edge of their seats from first pitch to last.

The Dominican Republic struck first in the second inning when young star Junior Caminero crushed a 1-2 slider for his third home run of the tournament, sending the Miami crowd into a frenzy and giving his team an early 1-0 lead. Caminero, who has been one of the breakout performers of this Classic, continued to show why he is considered one of baseball's most exciting young talents.

But Team USA answered emphatically in the fourth inning with a pair of solo blasts that proved to be the difference. Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson led off the frame by launching a Luis Severino cutter over the right-center field wall for a game-tying home run that traveled an estimated 400 feet. The Dominican Republic turned to reliever Gregory Soto, but Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony had other plans. The 21-year-old hammered a 3-2 sinker an estimated 421 feet to center field, giving the Americans a 2-1 lead and continuing what has been a sensational coming-out party on the international stage. Anthony now leads all Team USA players in home runs at this year's tournament.

On the mound, ace Paul Skenes was nothing short of brilliant. The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander held arguably the most talented lineup ever assembled in WBC history to just one run over four and a third innings, mixing his devastating arsenal with precision and poise against a murderers' row of Dominican hitters. The 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner set the tone for an American pitching staff that would need every out it could get.

The bullpen took it from there, navigating a series of tense moments as the Dominican Republic threatened to rally. Stellar defensive plays behind the relievers helped keep the one-run lead intact as the innings ticked by. The tension reached its peak in the final frame when closer Mason Miller took the mound with the tying run standing at third base.

The ending will be debated for years to come. Miller's final pitch, a slider that appeared to catch the lower portion of the zone -- or perhaps dip just below it -- was rung up as strike three by home plate umpire Cory Blaser. The controversial called third strike set off celebrations from the American players while Dominican players and fans voiced their displeasure with the call.

Regardless of the final pitch, Team USA's combination of clutch hitting, dominant starting pitching, and gutsy bullpen work earned them the right to play for the title. The Americans will enjoy a day off on Monday before facing the winner of the Italy-Venezuela semifinal, scheduled for Monday night at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, in Tuesday's championship game.

For a program that has made the WBC final a near-permanent home in recent years, Sunday night's victory was a reminder that the road to gold is never easy, especially when the opponent boasts the kind of generational talent the Dominican Republic brought to Miami.