World Baseball Classic: Venezuela takes down Team USA in championship game stunner
Once again, the final of the World Baseball Classic delivered a game worth remembering. This time, it was Venezuela breaking through against Team USA, with a win bound to resonate throughout the country.
The Venezuelans defeated the United States, 3-2, in Miami on Tuesday, capping off a tournament that showed baseball at its best. Tears were flowing as soon as Venezuela closer Daniel Palencia’s fastball reached the glove of Salvador Perez.
The title is Venezuela’s first in six incarnations of the WBC, joining the U.S., Japan and the Dominican Republic as winners. Venezuela had to face all three in this tournament, losing to the D.R. in pool play before recovering with a comeback win over Japan.
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This was a victory that took fortitude from Venezuela, who held a 2-0 lead in the eighth inning only to lose it on an electric game-tying home run from Bryce Harper. With a fresh ballgame and an inning to go, Venezuela regrouped.
And then Eugenio Suárez put them back on top.
On the defensive side, it took an incredible performance from a gassed Venezuela pitching staff to keep a stacked Team USA lineup under thumb.
Hero performances from Venezuelan pitching staff
If there was a reason for Team USA confidence entering the game, it was the state of Venezuela’s pitchers.
The starting pitcher was Eduardo Rodríguez, who holds a 5.02 ERA over the past two MLB seasons. Their bullpen had been their biggest strength of knockout play, but also had to cover 7 2/3 innings against Italy in the semifinal. Venezuela manager Omar López said before the final he had woken up to three text messages from different MLB organizations telling him not to use their relievers from back-to-back nights.
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It’s unclear if those requests were honored, but this was clearly a way in which the deck was stacked for Team USA, whose bullpen was rested and largely ready to go after defeating the Dominican Republic on Sunday. Venezuela, meanwhile, had to figure out a lineup in which the No. 9 hitter, Byron Buxton, was a 2025 MLB All-Star.
Rodríguez took the mound and didn’t blink. Over 4 1/3 innings, he kept the Americans off-balance and eventually exited after 4 1/3 innings with only 1 hit allowed and 1 walk, against 4 strikeouts.
Two of those were at the expense of Team USA captain Aaron Judge, who finished the night 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts.
Eduard Bazardo, José Buttó and Angel Zerpa combined for 2 1/3 innings after that, then Andrés Machado entered needing to get four outs to deliver a 2-0 lead to Palencia. That’s when the hiccup in the plan arrived, as Harper punished a center-cut changeup to finally give Team USA some juice.
That could have been the first blow of a thrilling comeback for the United States, but it wasn’t. Machado got out of the inning, then Luis Arraez led off the ninth with a walk. He was replaced with pinch-runner Javier Sanoja, who barely pulled off a steal of second base.
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Then Suárez struck, Palencia got through the bottom of the ninth with no trouble and the celebrations began. The Venezuelans were so dominant throughout the night, Team USA didn’t have a single at-bat with runners in scoring position.
Venezuela was pure joy
It can be so easy to disregard the WBC as an MLB-created entity designed to delivery easy-bake ratings in March, in which teams are overruled by MLB organizations over pitcher usage. But all of this so clearly matters to the players on the field and the fans behind them.
Throughout the 2026 WBC, Venezuela’s fans stood out as one of the loudest groups and were the more audible presence in a final held on U.S. soil.
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It goes without saying that teams on the field want to win, but the moment was visibly washing over the Venezuela players as they celebrated. It was one of the greatest days of their lives, and that’s what you play for. Grown men were crying, and it was beautiful.
Salvador Perez said after the game, “Now I feel like I can retire.” The longtime Kansas City Royals catcher wasn’t on the field when his team won the 2015 World Series, but he was behind the plate for this achievement.
USA-Venezuela has meaning beyond baseball
It is a victory with an unavoidable political side. President Donald Trump poked Venezuela about the country becoming the 51st state via social media after its win over Italy on Monday, and appeared to do so again immediately after the final pitch Tuesday. Suárez, the hero of the night, had his United States citizenship application canceled in December by Trump’s administration. And the game was held only a couple months after the U.S. government removed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro from the country.
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As much as this stuff can go unsaid in the world of baseball, it’s difficult to imagine that context wasn’t on the minds of many Venezuelans entering Tuesday.
Follow along with Yahoo Sports as Team USA takes on Venezuela on Tuesday in the World Baseball Classic final.
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Maikel Garcia is the World Baseball Classic MVP.
He finished the tournament with 10 hits, including 1 home run, 7 RBI and 3 stolen bases.
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Roman Anthony strikes out, and Venezuela wins the World Baseball Classic.
Palencia finishes the job and tosses his glove to the sky, having shut down the USA bats to seal his country’s first tournament title.
Team USA’s offense was nearly absent in this game, aside from Bryce Harper’s home run, and the Americans will head back to spring training with a lot of regrets and what-ifs.
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Gunnar Henderson pops out, and Team USA is down to its very last out.
It’ll be up to Roman Anthony.
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Daniel Palencia is on the mound to close this out for Venezuela.
He gets Schwarber swinging for out No. 1.
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After an intentional walk to Abreu, Salvador Perez flies out.
On to the bottom of the ninth. Schwarber is up first.
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Gimenez flies out, and the USA goes to Tyler Rogers.
He gets Tovar to pop out, and Geno is almost doubled off second, but he makes it back just in time. Two outs.
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Geno Suarez delivers a double to left field, and just like that, Venezuela retakes the lead.
Whitlock left a changeup over the middle of the plate, and Suarez did not miss.
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Luis Arraez draws a leadoff walk for Venezuela. Pinch runner Javier Sanoja replaces him and swiftly steals second. Will Smith’s throw to the bag is not in time.
The USA challenges the call, but the ruling on the field stands. The go-ahead run is in scoring position with nobody out and Geno Suarez up next.
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Garrett Whitlock gets the ball next for Team USA, now working to preserve a tie.
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Aaron Judge strikes out for the third time tonight, and that’s the end of the eighth inning.
This is a brand-new ballgame headed to the ninth inning.
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Bryce Harper ties the WBC final with one big swing, sending a 93-mph changeup right over the middle of the plate straight out to center field.
That’s two runs, and this game is tied.
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That’s three consecutive innings with a 2-out baserunner for Team USA.
Bobby Witt Jr. draws a walk after Turang strikes out and PCA grounds out. Harper is up.
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Acuña grounds out, Garcia pops out, and it’s the Americans’ turn again to try to muster some offense.
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Jack Baer
A quick 1-2-3 inning for Griffin Jax and it’s still 2-0 Venezuela going into the bottom of the eighth.
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Jack Baer
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