Venezuela is the champion of the World Baseball Classic for the first time.
Behind a strong outing from Eduardo Rodriguez and late heroics from Eugenio Suárez, Venezuela bested Team USA on its way to a 3-2 win in the tournament final on Tuesday night.
Rodriguez dealt for 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out four against the vaunted American lineup. After struggling in his first WBC start against the Dominican Republic, the veteran southpaw was completely in control against the U.S.
But it was Suárez’s swing in the ninth that proved to be the difference. After Garrett Whitlock walked Luis Arraez to lead off the ninth and pinch-runner Javier Sanoja stole second, Suárez ripped a double in the gap to retake the lead.
Earlier in the game, Venezuela pushed a pair of runs across against USA starter Nolan McLean.
The first came in the third inning, when a one-out wild pitch from McLean moved Venezuela captain Salvador Perez to third base, right before Maikel Garcia brought him home with a sacrifice fly.
Wilyer Abreu provided some breathing room in the fifth, launching a solo shot off McLean for his second huge knockout-round homer of this tournament — following his go-ahead three-run blast against Japan.
Staked to the lead, Venezuela’s bullpen couldn’t hold down the U.S. offence for the rest of the game, however, as Bryce Harper levelled the score with a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, setting up the ninth-inning drama.
Tuesday marked the first time that Venezuela had played in a WBC final, and it now becomes the fourth different nation to claim the tournament championship in the sixth iteration of the event.
More to come.
