WBC Quarterfinals explainer: Can underdog Korea outlast Dominican Republic’s mighty lineup?

The Athletic has dwell protection of Korea vs. Dominican Republic and USA vs. Canada within the 2026 World Baseball Classic quarterfinals.

The World Baseball Classic has moved into its knockout stage. From a subject of 20 groups, eight have superior out of round-robin pool play and into the quarterfinals. From right here on out, every sport is a must-win, and three wins crown a champion. The quarterfinals start on Friday and proceed by way of Saturday.

Korea @ Dominican Republic

Friday, March 13
6:30 p.m. ET
loanDepot Park, Miami, Fla.

How to look at: FS2

How they acquired right here: The Dominican Republic bullied their manner by way of Pool D, pummeling Teams Israel, Nicaragua and Netherlands earlier than profitable a highly-anticipated matchup in opposition to Venezuela. During pool play, they led all groups in practically each significant offensive class, together with runs, dwelling runs and OPS. A lineup of major-league stars provides the DR an actual shot at profitable his second WBC title.

Team Korea, in the meantime, is within the quarterfinals for the primary time since 2009 and superior through a tiebreaker because the runner-up in Pool C. Korea went simply 2-2 in pool play however hung in there in opposition to undefeated Team Japan, outhitting Japan however in the end shedding by 2 runs.

Star gazing: There isn’t any scarcity of star energy within the Dominican Republic lineup. Fernando Tatis Jr., Ketel Marte, Juan Soto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have been their prime 4 hitters, constructing a lineup with such depth that Julio Rodríguez bats seventh and Geraldo Perdomo — who completed fourth in NL MVP voting final season — bats ninth. Adding to the marquee names on Friday would be the staff’s No. 1 starter, Cristopher Sanchez, who had a breakout 2025 season with the Philadelphia Phillies however failed in his first WBC begin final week. He’ll search for significantly better outcomes this outing.

Great unknown: Compared to the Dominican Republic, Team Korea is gentle on family names. San Francisco Giants middle fielder Jung Hoo Lee is the centerpiece of the lineup and had two hits within the sport in opposition to Team Japan. A reputation to bear in mind is Bo Gyeong Moon, who presently leads the event with 11 RBIs, together with 4 in a 7-2 win in opposition to Australia that proved pivotal in serving to Team Korea advance. The solely participant who has greater than six at-bats and a better OPS than Moon is Shohei Ohtani.