Daniel Palencia got Roman Anthony swinging, fired his glove into the air, pounded his chest and then fell to his knees, overcome by emotion after finishing off Venezuela’s first-ever World Baseball Classic title against one of the best rosters ever assembled.
As his teammates ran out to celebrate with him, they lifted their arms to the sky. Eugenio Suárez, who delivered the deciding hit in the top of the ninth, emerged with a flag of the country their players so proudly represented. The tears steaming from the faces of Venezuela’s coaches and players said it all.
In the other dugout, there was disbelief.
After falling 3-2 to Japan in the 2023 WBC final, the United States failed to avenge its defeat in yet another 3-2 championship loss.
Here are our takeaways.
1. Eugenio Suárez is the hero of resilient Venezuela’s first WBC title
Rowan Kavner: Throughout the tournament, Venezuela needed to demonstrate its resilience to accomplish what it had never accomplished before.
The Venezuelans never wavered when Japan held a 5-2 lead in the quarterfinal. They never panicked when Italy jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the semifinal.
And in its first-ever World Baseball Classic championship appearance, after Bryce Harper hit the game-tying home run in the eighth inning that flipped all the momentum USA’s way, Venezuela answered back again.
The ninth inning began with a leadoff walk from Luis Arraez off Garrett Whitlock. Javier Sanoja then entered as a pinch-runner and stole second base, putting the winning run in scoring position with no outs. Whitlock, who hadn’t allowed a run all tournament, then surrendered an RBI double to Suárez to give Venezuela the lead back in the ninth.
Suárez, who started the scoring for Venezuela in its semifinal win against Italy, stepped on second base and pointed toward the sky as a crowd of 36,190 fans erupted.
Venezuela’s Eugenio Suárez hits double, driving in go-ahead run in ninth inning against United States
In that moment, he represented each and every one of his teammates.
“We are together the whole time,” Suarez told FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. “We’re not just teammates, we’re family. This team is family, here. We play with passion, with love.”
2. Eduardo Rodriguez carves through U.S. lineup that can’t avenge 2023 defeat
Kavner: The biggest difference for Team USA in this year’s WBC was the increase in talent on the pitching staff, but this was still one of the most decorated lineups ever to set foot on a baseball field.
At least, on paper.
As it played out, Rodriguez was just the latest WBC starter to give the star-studded group fits as the D-backs veteran excelled on the biggest stage.
In his first outing of the WBC, Rodríguez struck out five Dominican Republic batters in 2.2 innings but also let Juan Soto and Ketel Marte take him deep. Home runs were an issue for E-Rod last season as well, while logging an ERA over 5.00. Against another lineup featuring many of MLB’s best talents on Tuesday night, however, Rodríguez had no such issues.
Eduardo Rodriguez delivered 4 1/3 scoreless innings in the 2026 WBC Final. (Daniel Shirey/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The left-hander picked apart Team USA for 4.1 shutout innings while striking out four and allowing just two baserunners. The performance was vital for Venezuela’s bullpen with the team playing on back-to-back nights.
And it was just the latest example of the slow starts that plagued the USA throughout the tournament.
3. Bryce Harper briefly wakes up Team USA’s dormant offense
Kavner: Harper looked out toward center field, admired the moonshot for a moment, then flipped his bat up in the air as he resuscitated an American offense that looked lifeless for most of Tuesday’s World Baseball Classic final.
Harper’s 432-foot blast off Andres Machado tied the game in the eighth inning and gave Team USA its first runs, snapping a stunning 12-inning scoreless drought for the Americans. Prior to the homer, Team USA was held scoreless in 18 of its last 19 innings.
The joy, however, was fleeting.
It’s almost unfathomable, given the names in the lineup, that the U.S. made it to the finals in spite of — not because of — its offense.
Rodriguez’s gem Tuesday night was a continuation of a stunning trend for a U.S. lineup filled with many of the best players in the game. And it looked a lot like the shocking pool-play loss to Italy, when veteran Michael Lorenzen held the U.S. scoreless for 4.2 innings.
The last six starters to face the U.S. in the WBC — Tyler Viza (Great Britain), Manny Barreda (Mexico), Lorenzen (Italy), Michael Soroka (Canada), Luis Severino (Dominican Republic) and Rodríguez (Venezuela) — combined for a 1.35 ERA against Team USA.
The U.S. went scoreless through its first four innings against Great Britain, scoreless for seven of eight innings against Mexico, scoreless for the first five innings against Italy, scoreless in five of its last six innings against Canada, scoreless in eight of nine innings against the Dominican Republic and scoreless for the first eight innings in the final against Venezuela.
It finished the tournament ranked sixth in batting average and seventh in slugging among the 20 teams.
Eventually, the offensive outages were their undoing.
4. Wilyer Abreu gives Venezuela another big lift
Deesha Thosar: Abreu didn’t just change the outlook of the championship game; he announced his arrival on the global stage.
The Venezuelan left fielder took USA starter Nolan McLean deep, sending a solo shot to the deepest part of the stadium in straightaway center field and padding Venezuela’s lead to 2-0 in the fifth inning.
Wilyer Abreu hits solo home run, extending Venezuela’s lead over United States
Abreu has been nothing short of electric for Venezuela, emerging as one of the tournament’s breakout stars and a driving force behind the country’s successful run. In the biggest moments, Abreu came through in the clutch. No swing was louder than his go-ahead, three-run blast in the quarterfinal against Japan that flipped the WBC on its head and sent Venezuela surging into the semifinals.
And in the final, his swing was just enough for Venezuela until Suárez’s ninth-inning heroics.
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