SAN DIEGO – When Manny Machado made contact with the pitch, Tyler Clippard pivoted on the mound to turn toward center field, where the baseball was headed on a powerful arc.
Adam Jones raced toward the warning track in what looked like a futile chase: The heavy marine air would not turn this ball into an out, as it had so many others last week. So it was left to Jones, who leapt at the wall, plucked the ball out of the air as it was about to land in the stands, and brought the crowd at a sold-out Petco Park to its feet.
Clippard thrust his arms skyward and shouted, "Oh, my God!"
Machado, as he reached first base, doffed his cap to Jones, his Baltimore Orioles teammate.
The catch was the latest signature moment by Jones, who delivered a walk-off single against Colombia in the first round of the World Baseball Classic, hit a tying home run in a win over Venezuela on Wednesday and, with his catch, helped lift the United States to a 6-3 victory over the Dominican Republic, the defending champion, on Saturday night.
With the result, the U.S. advanced to the semifinals for only the second time in the four installments of the WBC. In 2009, it lost in the semifinals to Japan — its opponent on Tuesday night, up the road at Dodger Stadium. Puerto Rico will play the Netherlands in the other semifinal, on Monday night, with the two winners meeting Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
There was no shortage of heroes for the United States on Saturday. Shortstop Brandon Crawford cut down a runner at home plate, starting pitcher Danny Duffy extricated himself from an early jam to keep the Americans from being buried, and Giancarlo Stanton hit a blistering two-run homer to give his team the lead for good.
While this year's WBC has been a broad success, with passionate crowds, engaged players and scintillating games leading to rich story lines, the U.S. team has been dogged by an unpleasant issue: how many American stars turned down invitations to play.
