Red Sox Fireman Gets Ultimate Compliment From Team USA's Mark DeRosa

Making some of the best hitters in the world look silly...

Mar 13, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; United States relief pitcher Garrett Whitlock (59) throws during the eighth inning against Canada during a quarterfinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox continued their dominance of the World Baseball Classic on Sunday night, and not even Roman Anthony could steal all the headlines to himself.

After Anthony's home run put Team USA up 2-1 on the Dominican Republic in the top of the fourth inning, the American bullpen had to hold up for 4 2/3 innings. An eighth inning against the heart of the Dominican lineup -- Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Manny Machado -- could have been the deciding moment.

Thankfully for Team USA, Garrett Whitlock was there to meet that moment, and he could hardly have been more dominant against those three revered sluggers.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Whitlock continues sensational WBC run

Whitlock struck out Soto looking on a slider that just missed the bottom of the computerized strike zone, but was arguably too close to take. He got Guerrero to weakly ground out back to the mound. Then, he forced Machado to chase three sliders well outside the zone, brilliantly using the adrenaline of the big moment against his overaggressive opponent.

USA manager Mark DeRosa paid Whitlock the ultimate compliment after that crucial inning, which set up closer Mason Miller to pick up the save that punched the Americans' ticket to the championship game on Tuesday.

“Garrett Whitlock is absolutely nasty,” DeRosa simply said, per Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.

In three WBC outings thus far, Whitlock has allowed only one baserunner. Of the nine outs he's recorded, five have been strikeouts. He got the save in a tight 5-3 win over Mexico during pool play, and in the team's two elimination games, he's worked back-to-back perfect eighth innings.

The Red Sox have long known they were lucky to have Whitlock on their side, but something about this dominance sticks out more in these big-game moments on the world stage. That heart of the order could give any pitcher fits, but Whitlock's unique brand of accuracy and deception completely flummoxed them.

Team USA manager Alex Cora will look forward to welcoming back Whitlock from his run after the title game, and he can be sure that his Team USA counterpart, DeRosa, will send a glowing report card.