Venezuela Beats U.S. 3-2 to Win First World Baseball Classic Title

MIAMI — Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic for the first time on Tuesday night, beating the United States 3-2 in the championship game on Eugenio Suárez’s go-ahead double in the ninth inning.

The victory came before a sellout crowd of 36,190 at loanDepot park, according to the World Baseball Softball Confederation, and ended a remarkable run for a Venezuelan team that had never before reached the tournament final.

Harper Ties It, Suárez Wins It

Venezuela took the lead in the third inning when Salvador Pérez scored on a sacrifice fly by Maikel García, and Wilyer Abreu added a solo home run in the fifth for a 2-0 advantage.

The United States tied the game in the bottom of the eighth on a two-run homer by Bryce Harper. In the top of the ninth, Suárez lined a run-scoring double to put Venezuela back in front, and Daniel Palencia closed out the win.

García was named the tournament’s most valuable player. Venezuela became only the second Latin American country to win the Classic, after the Dominican Republic in 2013.

Pitching Carries Venezuela

Venezuela’s pitchers held a star-studded U.S. lineup to three hits. Starter Eduardo Rodríguez allowed one hit over 4 1/3 innings with four strikeouts, and relievers Eduard Bazardo, José Buttó, Ángel Zerpa and Palencia kept the Americans in check. Andrés Machado gave up Harper’s game-tying homer but was credited with the win.

A Difficult Path

Venezuela entered the knockout stage as the runner-up in its pool and immediately faced Japan, the defending champion, in the quarterfinals. Venezuela won 8-5 to eliminate one of the tournament’s traditional powers, then beat Italy 4-2 in the semifinals. Venezuela had previously reached the semifinals in 2009 and 2017.

The WBSC noted that Venezuela had previously been crowned baseball world champions in the 1940s under earlier international competition formats, but this was its first World Baseball Classic title.

Disappointment for Team USA

The loss was another near miss for the United States, which won the tournament in 2017 and finished as runner-up to Japan in 2023. The American roster featured many of Major League Baseball’s biggest stars.

Tournament Format

The 2026 Classic was played in Tokyo, San Juan, Houston and Miami, with the semifinals split between Houston and Miami and the final in Miami, as in 2023. The tournament, held every few years in March before the MLB regular season, has grown into a major international event, drawing large crowds and strong television audiences, particularly in Latin America and East Asia.