WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: SEMIFINALS - USA VS DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

March 15, 2026

Mark DeRosa

LoanDepot Park

Team USA

Postgame Press Conference

USA 2, Dominican Republic 1

Q. A lot has been spoken about the level of this game. Your impressions as a manager? Hall of Famers on both teams. You beat maybe the best offense that you might face in your history as a manager and as a player.

MARK DeROSA: Yeah. I mean, just hats off to our pitching staff, to be honest with you. Incredible lineup Dominican throws at you. Incredible respect for it. Just an unbelievable -- that was high-level baseball at its finest.

I mean, for our bullpen to come in and do the job they did, Dominican never stopped. It was like constant traffic, never relaxed. Just a game we'll remember forever, right?

I think for me, Tyler Rogers coming in, getting a double play, David Bednar having traffic, Griffin Jax on down the line, just getting it to Mason. Garret Whitlock is just is absolutely nasty.

And on their side as well. They held us in check. It was three solo shots decided the game, so I'm proud to be a part of it.

Q. Is Nolan throwing Tuesday, or do you have other plans or options at this point?

MARK DeROSA: No, Nolan will throw Tuesday.

Q. Mark, you mentioned having Gunnar Henderson, considering the numbers, Severino, seeing that decision pay off, how good was that decision? And also, Roman Anthony being able to get his solo shot to give you guys the lead?

MARK DeROSA: Speaking of Gunnar, seven of nine, that's a good sample size, as a former player. He obviously sees Luis well, and Luis threw the heck out of the ball. 99 the first inning, that sweeper was exploding across the plate. Got some big punch-outs. I think we had second and third with Judgey and Schwarber up at one point and couldn't scratch another run across the board.

Yeah, I forgot your second question.

Yeah, Roman's special. When we added him to the roster, he's a special kid. Twenty-one years old to be able to handle the moment. The quality of at-bat is a testament to the kind of player he is right now and is going to become. Just special to stand in there left on left against Soto, work the count, get a pitch to drive. So yeah, I expect big things from him.

Q. Mark, can you talk about Paul Skenes; performance? He's only 23 years old and had an incredible night.

MARK DeROSA: Listen, you can make the argument he's the best pitcher in the game. We had the other one I think in our dugout watching the game in Tarik Skubal.

Special presence, special man, wants the moment, wasn't too big for him. Controls his emotions, makes pitches.

I mean, the pitch Junior Caminero hit out on an 0-2 count, that ball's on the black outside, maybe a little up, but it was just crazy talent all over the field.

Q. Mark, would you like to see the WBC get ABS, the challenge system?

MARK DeROSA: I would assume it comes in next time, yeah. I'm a fan of it, so yeah.

Q. Mark, you talked about the relief pitching. Could you ever imagine though, after the Henderson home run, you got one hit the rest of the game, that you'd still win the game?

MARK DeROSA: Yeah, they threw the ball well too. The guys coming out of their bullpen. There was just so much talent on the field from both sides. You knew it was going to come down to one swing of the bat. Yeah, I'm still waiting for our offense to explode, but it's tough to explode against a pitching staff like that.

Q. Do you have Mason for Tuesday or --

MARK DeROSA: We haven't discussed that yet.

Q. Three times in five days, it is something that could be possible as far as you know?

MARK DeROSA: I would hope he'd be available.

Q. Mark, when we see Paul Skenes, Gunnar Henderson, Roman Anthony, ages so young, the future seems bright for USA baseball. Can you talk about this, having these young players in your roster and performing on this level, this way?

MARK DeROSA: Yeah, that's the game right now in the modern -- the modern game's a young man's game. When I was leaving the league, it was getting super young. I think these guys are exploding on the scene. They play at such a high level, like kind of youth travel baseball. They're ready for the moment. It's not too big for them.

I'm blown away with the quality of at-bats and the way they carry themselves. They expect to be great.

Q. Mark, beyond the obvious fastball velocity, what is it that makes Mason such an effective closer, or how do you feel about how he's kind of grabbed that role for you guys?

MARK DeROSA: I think it comes down to unbelievable fastball velocity at the end of the day. I mean, you're facing some pretty big hitters. He can almost at times, just 101, 102 is just special kind of stuff, but he can land the breaking ball as well. He's got ice water in his veins.

So yeah, you were noticing that the entire night. The moment's not too big for these guys. David Bednar with traffic on, able to make pitches. The strikeout of Tatis and then the breaking ball. Garrett Whitlock's got to go through the teeth of their order and he's got command of three pitches. Tyler Rogers coming in against Soto.

The three-batter minimum makes you think about certain things a little bit differently, so for him to get that double play was special.

Q. How could you describe play final early?

MARK DeROSA: What's that?

Q. How do you describe play final early before the finals? The finals?

MARK DeROSA: Oh, okay. Yeah, we just talked about that in there. The job's not done, certainly. We understood this was going to be a talked-about game, probably one of the most watched games of all time. A ton of respect for Dominican Republic. Albert Pujols, a former teammate of mine. I watched the guy win an MVP in 2009.

Up and down the line. I said this earlier in the press conference previous. The WBC has this magnetic way of just growing the game of baseball. Tonight -- I go back to the last time when Ohtani struck out Mike Trout and like baseball won that night. Whether we won or didn't win, baseball won. I think baseball won again tonight.

Q. My question is in the same way. Do you think the biggest inning's now done or do you think there is another giant to beat over there?

MARK DeROSA: Yeah, we want to win the whole thing. I mean, that's why we signed up for this.

So certainly a huge moment. Can't overlook it. I'm blessed to be a part of it. I'm blessed to be able to manage these guys. I've had an absolute blast.

But yeah, job's not done.

(FastScripts by ASAP Sports).