After logging his biggest hit of the tournament, pulling a changeup into the gap in left-center field, Eugenio Suarez glided into second base and raised his arms high in the air as his Venezuela teammates emptied from the dugout to celebrate at home plate.
Not too long after, Venezuela was officially on the top of the baseball world.
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Suarez’s go-ahead double in the ninth inning lifted Venezuela to a 3-2 win over the United States in the World Baseball Classic final on Tuesday at Miami’s loanDepot park in front of an announced crowd of 36,190 that was primarily Venezuelan supporters.
It’s Venezuela’s first World Baseball Classic title in six iterations of the tournament. Japan has won three times (2006, 2009, 2023), while the Dominican Republic (2013) and United States (2017) have won once each.
“We were feeling at home,” said third baseman Maikel Garcia, was named tournament MVP. “There were more Venezuelan fans than American fans. We were used to this at stages, but not the American players. And that was clear during the game.”
Emotions quickly hit the team after Daniel Palencia struck out Roman Anthony to end the game. Palacio threw his glove in the air and fell to his knees in front of the mound. A dogpile proceeded to form there as the dugout and bullpen cleared. Multiple players had Venezuelan flags draped around their necks.
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And yes, the tears flowed.
“Our country deserved this game,” star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. said.
They played for more than themselves. They played for their families, for their country, for their people back home dealing with the political upheaval and uncertain future.
Venezuela manager Omar Lopez said several times throughout the tournament that he wouldn’t discuss politics. His simply wanted his team’s success throughout this tournament to serve as a chance to bring “joy to our country.”
“I was dreaming about this moment,” Lopez said, “that we were champions.”
It’s not a dream anymore.
It’s reality.
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“Venezuelans know the effort that we make,” Venezuela catcher and team captain Salvador Perez said. “After beating Italy [in the semifinals], I saw the videos of the people on the streets celebrating in the smallest town in the country, a black-and-white TV set, and those people supporting us, kneeling down. … They were with us here in our hearts.”
Venezuela pitcher Daniel Palencia (29) celebrates after defeating the United States in their World Baseball Classic final game at loanDepot Park on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Miami, Fla.
(Photo by Matias J. Ocner/mocner@miamiherald.com)
The United States tied the game in the eighth inning on a Bryce Harper two-run home run before Venezuela put together one final offensive surge.
It started with a Luis Arraez leadoff walk. Javier Sanoja, the Miami Marlins’ super-utility player who had spent the first eight innings serving as Venezuela’s hype man in the dugout, entered as a pinch-runner and promptly stole second base.
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Then Suarez had his go-ahead double that drove in Sanoja. It was just his fourth hit of the tournament but his third that went for extra bases after also hitting a pair of home runs.
“This right now is priceless,” Sanoja said. “Our country needed this and thank God we seized the opportunity.”
Marlins’ Javier Sanoja scores Venezuela’s World Baseball Classic-winning run
Venezuela’s catcher Salvador Perez (13) scores after Maikel Garcia hits a sacrifice fly to center field as United States catcher Will Smith (16) looks towards the infield in the third inning of the final game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic against the United States at loanDepot park on Tuesday, March 17, 2026.
(PHOTO BY AL DIAZ/adiaz@miamiherald.com)
Garcia opened scoring for Venezuela with a third-inning sacrifice fly that plated Perez, who led off the inning with a single before moving to second on a Ronald Acuna Jr. walk and third on a wild pitch.
Abreu then doubled his country’s lead two innings later with his second home run of the tournament, crushing a middle-middle fastball from United States starting pitcher Nolan McLean and sending it 414 feet to center field.
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That almost turned out to be enough offense for Venezuela as its pitching staff held a vaunted USA offense — one with a combined 28 All-Star nods, 14 Silver Slugger awards and five MVP honors amongst its starting lineup — to just two hits and two walks through the first seven innings.
“When you are well-planned, when you understand things, and when you have a clear communication, good things can happen,” said two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana, who served as one of Venezuela’s two pitching coaches for the tournament, “and that happened today. We had a good planning and a good execution for the plan, and that’s why we are champions today.”
Venezuela pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (52) pitches against the United States in the first inning during the final game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at loanDepot park on Tuesday, March 17, 2026.
(PHOTO BY AL DIAZ/adiaz@miamiherald.com)
It started with Rodriguez, a 10-year MLB veteran with a career 4.19 ERA, giving up just one hit (a Brice Turang single) and one walk (to Kyle Schwarber) while pitching into the fifth inning. He had four strikeouts, including two to Aaron Judge. He received a rousing standing ovation from the Venezuela-heavy crowd at loanDepot park when Lopez took him out of the game.
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Venezuela’s bullpen, which was dominant in its quarterfinal upset over defending champion Japan on Saturday and its semifinal win against tournament darling Italy on Monday, picked up where Rodriguez left off.
Eduard Bazardo got the final two outs in the fifth. Jose Butto worked around a two-out single to Harper in the sixth by getting Judge to ground out to third base. Angel Zerpa got two outs in the seventh before issuing a walk to Roman Anthony. Andres Machado entered and stranded Anthony by getting Will Smith to pop out.
See the reaction as Venezuela wins its first World Baseball Classic
Machado returned for the eighth and got two quick outs before walking Bobby Witt Jr. and giving up the home run to Harper — a 432-foot shot to straightaway center.
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And then Venezuela rallied in the top of the ninth and Palencia closed it with a shutout bottom of the ninth.
The United States, meanwhile, has to settle for runner-up for a second consecutive tournament after losing to Japan in 2023.
“Ultimately it’s who gets hot at the right time, who gets a big swing,” USA manager Mark DeRosa said. “It just seemed like we couldn’t get the offense going the entire tournament. … For what whatever reason, we just couldn’t get it rolling offensively.”
USA had its chance to win World Baseball Classic. In the end, it couldn’t get it done
Venezuela got hot at the right time. It shook off a loss to the Dominican Republic at the end of pool play to win its final three games.
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And now, they’re champions.
“We showed the whole world that in Venezuela we have talented players, and we know how to play ball,” Garcia said. “We were not favored. They put us fifth in the ranking, but that’s OK with us.”