Masterful pitching, timely hitting, and a whole lot of electricity propelled Venezuela to one of the more unlikely upsets in tournament history. The Dominican Republic, Japan and the United States were all expected to be contenders, yet it was Venezuela who conquered the baseball world. Let’s take a look at how they defeated the superteam a night ago.
Venezuela 3, United States 2
Eduardo Rodriguez took the ball for Venezuela, coming off a subpar start against the Dominican Republic in which he induced a pair of home runs and was unable to make it through three innings of work. Against the U.S., it was a completely different story. 4.1 innings, only one hit (a single to Brice Turang) and four strikeouts. He provided the length necessary to hand the ball to a dominant Venezuelan bullpen, keeping the United States offence at bay in the process.
On the American side, rookie Nolan McLean took the ball and looked relatively sharp through two innings before allowing a sacrifice fly to Maikel Garcia, scoring Salvador Perez and giving Venezuela a 1-0 lead. He cruised through the fourth before serving up a 96 mph fastball to Wilyer Abreu, who deposited it 414 feet to dead centre, strengthening Venezuela’s lead.
Both bullpens stymied each other’s offences until the bottom of the eighth inning, when Bryce Harper finally had his signature moment. To that point, the United States hadn’t managed to get a baserunner to reach scoring position. Bobby Witt Jr drew a walk, setting up Harper with a vicious swing on a 1-0 changeup from reliever Andres Machado, sending the ball 432 feet to centre field, and tying the game at two apiece.
Garrett Whitlock entered the game for the United States at the top of the ninth inning, looking to shut down Venezuela and give the Americans a chance at walking off. The opposition had other plans.
Luis Arraez drew a walk, with the speedy Javier Sanoja taking his place as a pinch-runner. Sanjoa would steal second base, putting himself in scoring position for Eugenio Suarez. Geno would deliver, roping a ball into the left-field gap for a double, giving Venezuela a 3-2 lead that they would not relinquish.
After shutting down Japan in the quarterfinals and Italy in the semifinals, Daniel Palencia was once again tasked with closing duties, and didn’t disappoint. The Americans went down in order, and for the first time in the history of the World Baseball Classic, Venezuela was dubbed the champion.
The Venezuelan bullpen was otherworldly once again, with Eduard Bazardo, Jose Butto, Angel Zerpa, and Daniel Palencia all holding the States to just one hit and zero runs. A powerful offence went completely silent in the biggest game of the tournament, ultimately being the catalyst to their second consecutive runner-up finish in the WBC.
A thriller of a finale capped off what was undoubtedly an extravagant two-week stretch of selfless, energy-filled baseball, providing fans from around the world the opportunity to experience a playoff atmosphere like no other in the middle of March. Passion, grit and determination were all on display for all 20 countries involved, and in the end, it was Venezuela who conquered the baseball world.