Bad call strikeout! Umpire's "farewell misjudgment" leads to USA eliminating Dominican Republic, MLB reporter criticizes: disgraceful

In today's World Baseball Classic semifinal against the Dominican Republic, the USA team clinched a 2-1 win to reach the finals, powered by two solo homers from Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony in the fourth inning. However, an umpire's "farewell misjudgment" in the bottom of the ninth resulted in Geraldo Perdomo being called out on strikes, prompting even renowned MLB reporter Jeff Passan to condemn it as "disgraceful!" on Twitter.

The Dominican Republic took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning when Junior Caminero hit a solo home run off newly crowned National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes. But in the top of the fourth, the young power hitters Henderson and Anthony responded with back-to-back homers, turning the game around to give the USA a 2-1 advantage.

The score remained unchanged until the bottom of the eighth. Leading batter Juan Soto, after a 2-1 count, faced an 84 mph slider from Garrett Whitlock that clearly dropped below the strike zone, yet was called a strike by the umpire, resulting in Soto being struck out. Soto immediately turned and shouted, "No way!" MLB reporter Passan also expressed his frustration on Twitter: "That call was terrible. Something like this should never happen, especially in such a game. A call like this absolutely should not occur."

In the bottom of the ninth, the USA brought in closer Mason Miller. With two outs and a runner on third, the Dominican Republic's hope to advance rested on Geraldo Perdomo. After a seven-pitch battle, the eighth pitch—an 89 mph slider from Miller—clearly missed the strike zone by about a ball's width. Unexpectedly, the umpire called it a strike for the third out, leaving Perdomo furious. Passan promptly criticized again: "This game should not have ended that way. It's utterly disgraceful."