Paul Skenes' Pitch Limit for USA vs. Dominican Republic WBC Semifinal Revealed By Mark DeRosa

Team USA could be taking advantage of increased pitch limits in the semifinals of the 2026 World Baseball Classic when Paul Skenes makes his semifinal start against the Dominican Republic.

Manager Mark DeRosa said Friday night he is expecting Skenes to operate under a limit of around 75 to 80 pitches, per Fox Sports' Rowan Kavner.

DeRosa noted that number could change ahead of the semifinal, per Kavner.

Starters were limited to 65 pitches in pool play and 80 pitches in the quarterfinals, but are allowed up to 95 pitches in each of the final two rounds of the tournament.

After claiming a 5-3 quarterfinal win against Canada on Friday night in Houston, Team USA is set to travel to Miami for Sunday's 8 p.m. ET semifinal matchup with the Dominican Republic.

The Dominican Republic clinched their own spot in the semifinal with a 10-0 win over Korea that ended with a mercy rule after seven innings.

Skenes made his WBC debut on Monday during Team USA's pool play matchup against Mexico.

He threw 60 pitches (39 strikes, including 15 swinging) through 4.0 innings, allowing one hit, one walk and no runs while striking out seven batters.

Skenes reached a top pitch velocity of 99.7 miles per hour, and threw 11 pitches at over 98 mph, per Baseball Savant.

The Pittsburgh Pirates star is now preparing to make his second WBC start against the hottest offensive team in the WBC.

The Dominican Republic leads the tournament with a team .312 batting average and 1.090 OPS through five games.

That's in large part thanks to leadoff batter Fernando Tatís Jr., who has seven hits, two home runs and 11 RBI, in addition to Juan Soto (six hits, two home runs, four RBI) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (seven hits, two home runs, eight RBI).

Skenes has established himself as one of baseball's best pitchers over his two seasons in MLB, during which he has earned NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards while compiling a 1.96 career ERA, but has never gotten consistent run support from the Pirates.

He will hope an opportunity to throw more pitches while backed by a lineup led by Bobby Witt Jr., Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge can help him find more success with Team USA this weekend in Miami.