Venezuela defeated the United States in the World Baseball Classic Championship 3-2 to win their first ever title.
The US was the big favorite going into the competition, along with the Dominican Republic and the 2023 champions, Japan.
The men in the stars and stripes had the two best pitchers in the MLB, according to many, with Pirates Paul Skenes and Tigers Tarik Skubal. However, Skubal left the team after playing in one game to focus on his upcoming MLB season.
No one expected Venezuela to be in the title game, especially since they hadn’t won a major international competition in any sport since 1945.
However, once the tournament started, the US looked very lackluster compared to many other countries. The offense was struggling majorly, while the Dominican Republic broke a tournament record with 15 home runs.
Even through all the offensive struggles, the United States ended up beating the DR 2-1 in the semi-finals to set up a matchup with the Venezuelan underdogs.
This matchup included lots of star power with there being five different Red Sox players between the two teams.
Once again though, the offense struggled for the United States. Pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez shut down the American offense, going 4.1 innings pitched and only giving up one hit.
More heroics were needed out of players like Red Sox star Roman Anthony, who hit the game winning homerun in the game before, but he was held hitless.
The US wasn’t able to start Skenes, who won the 2025 Cy Young award, since he pitched in the semi finals against the Dominican Republic, so it was up to Mets prospect Nolan McLean.
McLean went 4.2 innings and only allowed two runs, which should’ve been enough for his teammates to overcome, but for seven innings, the US was scoreless.
Then in the bottom of the eighth inning, Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper hit a two-run homer to tie it.
All the US needed to do was hold it down, and they’d have a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth.
However, the US couldn’t do that as Cincinnati Reds star third baseman Eugenio Suarez hit an RBI double to put Venezuela up 3-2, which would end up being the game winning run.
Suarez, after the game, talked about how much that win meant for the people of Venezuela after lots of political turmoil.
“The country needs this happiness with all the things that we’ve gone through,” said Suarez in Spanish to ESPN.
While Venezuela celebrates, the US is wondering what went wrong. The offense was horrendous most of the tournament, and once again, three time MVP Aaron Judge froze in the biggest moments.
The US has now lost back-to-back WBC Championships, and questions are being raised if manager Mark DeRosa will be back for 2029.
For now, the players who played in the tournament will have bigger priorities as the MLB regular season kicks off on March 25 as the New York Yankees will take on the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.