Venezuela knocks off US 3-2 for first ever World Baseball Classic title

Eugenio Suárez and his Venezuelan teammates stood on the stage behind second base with shiny medals draped over their proud chests, belting out their national anthem accompanied by tens of thousands of fans who remained in the ballpark a half-hour after the final out.

Back home, people were singing their praises, too.

Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic for the first time Tuesday night, beating the United States 3-2 in the championship game on Suárez’s tiebreaking double in the top of the ninth inning.

Bryce Harper’s two-run homer with two outs in the eighth tied the score for the U.S., but Suárez hit a go-ahead double in the ninth and Daniel Palencia pitched a perfect bottom half.

“They were with us here in our hearts,” Venezuela captain Salvador Perez said of his countrymen. “The World Series, as you all know, is one of the most important championships in the major leagues, but when you fight for your country, that goes beyond."

In the capital of Caracas, thousands also sang the anthem as they gathered in the Plaza de la Juventud (Plaza of Youth) to the racket of honking horns from cars and motorcycles.

Maikel Garcia’s third-inning sacrifice fly and Wilyer Abreu’s fifth-inning homer off rookie Nolan McLean built a 2-0 lead before a roaring, pro-Latin America sellout crowd of 36,190 at loanDepot park. Left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez and a string of lights-out relievers limited the Americans to two hits through the seventh.

While the U.S., Japan and the Dominican Republic got much of the attention ahead of the sixth edition of the 20-nation event, Venezuela’s success was not that surprising. Sixty-three players born in Venezuela appeared on Major League Baseball opening-day rosters last year, second-most from outside the U.S. behind the Dominican Republic’s 100.

Despite a heralded roster of stars led by Aaron Judge, Harper and Paul Skenes, the U.S. remained without a title since 2017. 

 

(AP Photo Rebecca Blackwell)