Quick takeaways from Venezuela's WBC win

theScore provides analysis and insights for the championship game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic between the United States and Venezuela.

Venezuela wins 1st World Baseball Classic

What a win. What a team. What a tournament. Congrats to Venezuela on its first World Baseball Classic title. Daniel Palencia retired the Americans in order to close out the game.

The result marks the second straight WBC final the United States has lost by a 3-2 score. The Americans seemed disjointed throughout the tournament, and their high-powered offense never really got going when it mattered in the knockout round.

Only eight days until Opening Day.

Another big swing from Eugenio

It didn't take long for Venezuela to respond. Eugenio Suárez got his country back into the game against Italy in the quarters, and his RBI double in the ninth in the WBC final has the Venezuelans three outs away from a title.

There's a case to be made that Mark DeRosa went to Garrett Whitlock one too many times this tournament. The Red Sox reliever has made a team-high five appearances at the WBC.

Harper is still ... elite

Bryce Harper has given the United States new life. After stumbling through the bulk of the tournament, the Philadelphia Phillies star saved his best swing for the biggest moment, hammering a game-tying, two-run home run in the eighth inning off Andrés Machado.

The homer ended a 21 1/3 scoreless innings streak from Venezuela's bullpen. Now things really get interesting, as U.S. manager Mark DeRosa has a number of options to pinch-hit heading into the ninth inning.

Judge's struggles continue

Aaron Judge had a golden opportunity to change the tone of this game with one swing, but he grounded out to third base to end the inning. Judge has seemed out of sync tonight, striking out in his first two at-bats before watching two middle-middle pitches go by without swinging in his third plate appearance. He then got a slider down the heart of the plate and drove it into the ground. Judge is now 1-for-7 with four strikeouts over the last two games.

Take a bow E-Rod

Under the circumstances, that might go down as one of the finest performances of Eduardo Rodriguez's career. Though we never know what restrictions players are under, the left-hander was somewhat surprisingly removed from the game with one out in the fifth inning, despite having shut down the Americans. With Venezuela needing length after playing Monday, Rodriguez gave them that and more. He tossed 4 1/3 shutout innings, holding the U.S. to one hit and one walk while striking out four. Maybe Rodriguez's exit is the spark the American offense needs?

Big swing Abreu

If the Venezuelans hold on to win the WBC, they might need to build a statue of Wilyer Abreu in Caracas. Abreu's three-run homer against Japan was the difference-maker in the quarterfinal, and now he has another huge hit on his WBC resume. The Boston Red Sox outfielder hammered a 414-foot home run off Nolan McLean in the fifth inning to double Venezuela's lead. Unfortunately, Abreu's bat flip was much less electric than it was against Japan.

Where is the U.S. offense?

One of the most terrifying lineups on paper heading into the tournament has really struggled since hitting the knockout stage. The Americans have just one hit and one walk through four innings tonight, and they haven't had a runner advance past first base. Team USA has scored just two runs over the last 16 innings. Bryce Harper is sporting a .406 OPS for the tournament, while Aaron Judge is 0-for-2 with two strikeouts against Eduardo Rodriguez.

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Venezuela strikes 1st

A lot of baseball fans are getting to know how good Maikel Garcia is at this World Baseball Classic. The Kansas City Royals third baseman owns a 1.048 OPS for the tournament and drove in the first run for Venezuela on a sacrifice fly.

After two strong innings to open the game, things seemed to speed up a bit on U.S. starter Nolan McLean in the third. He allowed a single and a walk and then yanked a wild pitch that allowed both runners to move into scoring position. That mistake immediately came back to bite him.

Dream start for each pitcher

The first inning couldn't have gone much better for Nolan McLean. After surrendering a 108.4-mph single to Ronald Acuna Jr. on the first pitch of the game, the 24-year-old got Maikel Garcia to ground into a double play and Luis Arraez to fly out to center field. Three outs on five pitches. McLean got into trouble in the second inning against Italy, so we'll see how he responds.

Eduardo Rodriguez needed only nine pitches to retire the side. Bobby Witt Jr. flied out, Bryce Harper popped out, and Aaron Judge struck out. Both teams clearly planned to be aggressive from the start.

loanDepot Park is loud

This certainly isn't a Marlins game. The atmosphere at loanDepot Park has been incredible for the entire World Baseball Classic, and if the pregame introductions and anthems are any indication, it should be another raucous crowd tonight. It seems like the Venezuelan fans might be outnumbering the American fans.

How to watch 📺

🇺🇸: FOX
🇨🇦: Sportsnet
🏟️: loanDepot Park, Miami

Lineups

Nolan McLean: The New York Mets' rookie right-hander's only start in the tournament came in a loss to Italy. He allowed three runs on two hits and two walks while striking out four. McLean also surrendered solo homers to left-handed hitters Kyle Teel and Sam Antonacci over 55 pitches. U.S. manager Mark DeRosa said that star closer Mason Miller is available if needed.

Eduardo Rodriguez: The 32-year-old veteran left-hander struggled in his only start of the tournament, though it came against the offensive juggernaut Dominican Republic. Rodriguez allowed three runs over 2 2/3 innings, all of which came off homers from Juan Soto and Ketel Marte. However, E-Rod, who has 235 MLB starts under his belt, struck out five in the 53-pitch outing. Manager Omar López said Monday that he expects to have every reliever available, though that might not be the case.

United States look golden 🥇

The Americans arrived at loanDepot Park decked out in Team USA hockey jerseys. The squad was gifted game-used apparel from the men's Olympic gold medal-winning team.

How we got here

The United States and Venezuela meet in the WBC final for the first time. The United States won the tournament in 2017, while Venezuela's best finish was third in 2009. The U.S. lost 3-2 to Japan in the 2023 final after eliminating the Venezuelans 9-7 in the quarters.

Both countries finished second in their respective pools this tournament and enter the final with identical 5-1 records.

The United States is coming in off an off-day Monday, while Venezuela played Monday night against Italy.

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