MIAMI — Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic for the first time, rallying from a blown eighth-inning lead to beat the United States 3-2 on Eugenio Suárez’s tiebreaking double in the ninth inning Tuesday night.
Maikel Garcia gave Venezuela an early advantage with a third-inning sacrifice fly, and Wilyer Abreu extended the lead with a fifth-inning homer off rookie Nolan McLean. Left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez and a stingy Venezuelan bullpen limited the Americans to two hits through seven innings.
The U.S. rallied in the eighth. Bobby Witt Jr. drew a walk with two outs and Bryce Harper belted a second straight changeup from Andrés Machado over the center-field fence for a two-run homer that tied the game. Harper took his time rounding the bases and exchanged a salute with coach Dino Ebel at third.
In the ninth, Luis Arraez walked against Garrett Whitlock. Pinch-runner Javier Sanoja stole second just ahead of catcher Will Smith’s throw and scored when Suárez drove a double into the left-center gap. Suárez gestured to the sky at second base as teammates streamed from the dugout to greet Sanoja at the plate.
Daniel Palencia struck out two in a perfect bottom half to complete a three-hitter and pick up his third save of the WBC, fanning Roman Anthony for the final out. Venezuelan players and fans flooded the infield in celebration while the American team watched from the dugout.
“Nobody believed in Venezuela but now we win the championship,” Suárez said. “This is a celebration for all the Venezuelan country.”
Garcia was named tournament MVP after hitting .385 with seven RBIs. Venezuela became the second Latin American nation to win the WBC, following the Dominican Republic’s victory in 2013. The U.S., which won in 2017, lost its second straight final and remains without a title since that year.
Despite a star-studded American roster that included Aaron Judge, Harper and Paul Skenes, the U.S. underperformed at the plate. Judge went 0 for 4 in the final with three strikeouts and finished the tournament hitting .222 with five RBIs. Harper batted .214 with three RBIs, and Alex Bregman hit .143 with four RBIs. The U.S. lineup produced nine runs across three knockout-round games while batting .188 in the tournament.
The sellout crowd of 36,190 at loanDepot Park was heavily pro-Venezuela, with many fans booing American players during introductions. Ahead of the game, players and coaches largely sidestepped political questions amid heightened tensions between the two countries, a backdrop the article noted had been intensified by an incident in January in which the U.S. military captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Venezuelan players often described their team as family; brothers Willson and William Contreras accepted medals together on the podium. Fans lingered after the final out to sing Venezuela’s national anthem, “Gloria al Bravo Pueblo,” and crowds in Caracas gathered in public plazas, honking horns and singing in celebration.
Venezuela’s success was supported by the depth of Venezuelan talent in Major League Baseball: 63 players born in Venezuela were on MLB opening-day rosters last year, the second-most from any country outside the U.S., behind the Dominican Republic.
In the third inning against McLean, Salvador Perez singled and Ronald Acuña Jr. walked before Garcia’s sac fly put Venezuela ahead. Abreu’s fifth-inning homer — a 414-foot drive to center — made it 2-0. Rodriguez worked 4 1/3 innings, allowing one hit, before the bullpen took over.
The U.S. players made a lighthearted pregame entrance in game-worn U.S. Olympic hockey jerseys coordinated by outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong; the ballpark was lit with fans wearing blinking wristbands as Judge and Arraez carried their nations’ flags for player introductions.
