Everything Paul Skenes Said About Team USA Beating Dominican Republic, Advancing to WBC Final

The United States is on its way to the World Baseball Classic final, thanks in large part to a strong effort from starting pitcher Paul Skenes.

After the win over the Dominican Republic, the Pittsburgh Pirates ace said his goal was to "put up as many zeroes as possible."

"Just coming into the game, I wanted to put up as many zeroes as possible and put us in a position to win. Everybody else did their job, that was really fun to watch."

He also praised his defense for helping him out in the win.

"It wasn't the prettiest or cleanest game I've ever pitched, but we saw it last game too, the great defense behind me... Just makes it really easy to compete when you've got plays like that," Skenes said. "They did a really good job."

Skenes also had some extra motivation coming into the game. He revealed that before the game, one of his former Air Force teammates, who is currently deployed, told him he'd be tuning in.

"I got a text from one of my teammates at Air Force... he said he was gonna wake up at 3 a.m. to watch the game," Skenes said. "It puts it into perspective. If this isn't in perspective already, it's heavy stuff. For us, playing a game against a bunch of people we know, we've played all the time. It's heavy. It's just an absolute honor."

Skenes, who was making his second start of the WBC, went 4.1 innings, allowing just one run while recording a pair of strikeouts against a loaded Dominican Republic squad.

The Dominican team features players like Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatís Jr. and more. The United States' offense struggled a bit with just two runs (two solo home runs), so a big effort on the mound was much-needed.

Up next, the United States will face the winner of Italy vs. Venezuela. Both should be valiant opponents, as both teams feature a handful of MLB players. Italy also get the best of the United States in pool play.

The U.S., unfortunately, won't have Skenes starting on the mound again in the final, but it's hoping the rest of its star-studded roster can step up to pull out a victor in Tuesday's title game.