MIAMI — Venezuela captured its first World Baseball Classic title, rallying in the ninth to beat the United States 3-2 on Eugenio Suárez’s tiebreaking double Tuesday night at loanDepot park.
Maikel García’s third-inning sacrifice fly and Wilyer Abreu’s fifth-inning home run off rookie Nolan McLean gave Venezuela a 2-0 lead. Left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez and the Venezuelan bullpen held the U.S. to two hits through seven innings.
With two outs in the eighth, Bobby Witt Jr. walked and Bryce Harper homered on a second straight changeup from Andrés Machado to tie the game. Harper took his time rounding the bases and saluted coach Dino Ebel at third.
In the ninth, Luis Arraez walked off Garrett Whitlock. Pinch-runner Javier Sanoja stole second ahead of catcher Will Smith’s throw and scored when Suárez doubled into the left-center gap. Suárez celebrated at second as teammates rushed from the dugout. Daniel Palencia struck out two in a perfect bottom of the ninth to record a three-hitter and his third save of the WBC, ending the game on a strikeout of Roman Anthony.
“Nobody believed in Venezuela but now we win the championship,” Suárez said. “This is a celebration for all the Venezuelan country.” García, who hit .385 with seven RBIs, was named tournament MVP.
The U.S., despite a star-studded roster including Aaron Judge, Harper and Paul Skenes, lost its second straight WBC final and remains without a title since 2017. Judge went 0 for 4 in the final and hit .222 with five RBIs in the tournament; Harper batted .214 with three RBIs and Alex Bregman .143 with four RBIs. The U.S. scored nine runs across the three knockout-round games and batted .188 in the tournament.
A sellout crowd of 36,190 was heavily pro-Venezuela, with some booing American players during introductions. Players and coaches largely avoided discussing political tensions between the nations, heightened after the U.S. military captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January.
Venezuela is the second Latin American nation to win the WBC, after the Dominican Republic in 2013. Players repeatedly described the team as a family; brothers Willson and William Contreras received their medals together. Fans remained after the final out to sing Venezuela’s national anthem, “Gloria al Bravo Pueblo.” In Caracas, crowds gathered in a plaza honking horns and singing.
Sixty-three MLB players born in Venezuela appeared on opening-day rosters last year, second only to the Dominican Republic’s 100, underscoring the nation’s baseball depth.
In the game, Venezuela went ahead in the third off McLean after Salvador Perez’s single and Ronald Acuña Jr.’s walk set up García’s sac fly. Abreu’s fifth-inning homer traveled about 414 feet to center; his helmet fell off rounding second as teammates greeted him at the plate. Rodríguez allowed one hit in 4 1/3 innings before the bullpen took over.
The U.S. had arrived at the park wearing game-worn Olympic hockey jerseys coordinated by teammates Pete Crow-Armstrong and Jack Hughes. In the dimly lit stadium, Judge and Arraez led the teams carrying their nations’ flags for introductions.