Venezuela won its first World Baseball Classic title Tuesday, edging pre-tournament favorite the United States 3-2 in the final.
The game was deadlocked 2-2 heading to the ninth. Luis Arráez drew a leadoff walk and Javier Sanoja ran for him, then stole second. Eugenio Suárez followed with a go-ahead double to left-center, and Daniel Palencia retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth to close out the championship.
Venezuela struck first in the third inning on a Maikel García sacrifice fly and managed at least one hit in each of the opening three frames. They added insurance in the fifth when Wilyer Abreu launched a 414-foot solo homer to center.
Starter Eduardo Rodríguez gave Venezuela a strong start, striking out four and allowing one hit over 4 1/3 innings before turning the game over to an effective relief corps that preserved the lead.
Team USA, widely viewed as the tournament favorite, struggled to generate offense late in the event. The Americans recorded only three hits and two runs in the final after surviving a controversial 2-1 semifinal win over the Dominican Republic. The U.S. did not have a runner reach base until the third inning and never had a leadoff batter reach during the game.
Venezuela looked poised to shut out the U.S. until the bottom of the eighth. With two outs, Bobby Witt Jr. drew a walk and Bryce Harper tied the game with a 434-foot home run to center. Aaron Judge was unable to spark a late rally, finishing 0 for 4 with three strikeouts and leaving a runner stranded with a groundout; across his last two games he produced one hit and six strikeouts.
This championship marked Venezuela’s first appearance in the WBC final and its first gold. Their knockout-stage run included a quarterfinal victory over defending champion Japan and a semifinal win against Italy.
The U.S. managed just nine runs across its final three games. With their last WBC title in 2017, Team USA will now wait another four years for a shot at redemption.