Author: rincon

Venezuela is your new World Baseball Classic champion.

After a dramatic back-and-forth affair at loanDepot Park in Miami on Tuesday, Venezuela beat the United States 3-2 to win its first-ever World Baseball Classic title.

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Venezuela was in complete control through eight innings before the U.S. made things interesting with a two-run home run from Bryce Harper. However, the United States’ hopes quickly faded when Eugenio Suarez hit a go-ahead double in the top of the ninth inning.

Recapping Tuesday’s action:

Dominican Republic Wins First Ever WBC

Venezuela added its name to the list of WBC champions by getting its first ever title in tournament history. And when the game ended, loanDepot Park became one giant, deafening roar.

Venezuela might have been the visiting country, and the visiting team on the scoreboard, but a very Latin-flavored crowd in Miami sure made the new champions feel right at home.

“This is a celebration for all of the Venezuelan country,” said designated hitter Eugenio Suárez, who drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the ninth inning.

Eduardo Rodríguez fanned Aaron Judge — the U.S. captain went 0-for-4 — twice among four strikeouts and held the Americans to just one hit over 5 1/3 innings.

The Venezuelan bullpen gave up just two hits from there, including Bryce Harper’s tying, two-run homer over the center-field fence against Andrés Machado in the eighth.

The American roster was made up of players who have combined for more than 2,300 home runs and 419 saves, and nine of them have played in a World Series.

But they never quite displayed the full extent of their offensive firepower. They hit .250 over seven games with 44 runs, 10 homers and 40 RBIs.

MVP For Maikel: Venezuela’s Breakout Star Wins MVP

The debate toward the end of Tuesday’s final was who would be MVP of the tournament. Wilyer Abreu for his three-run homer against Japan in the quarterfinals and his solo shot against Team USA? Eugenio Suarez for his homer against Italy and his clutch hit that drove in the winning run against the USA?

Instead, it was one of MLB’s breakout stars in Maikel Garcia. The Royals All-Star and Gold Glove winner was named MVP of the World Baseball Classic after Venezuela, hitting .385 for the WBC with a home run and seven RBIs, and he drove in the first run of the game in the final off USA starter Nolan McLean. 

He also had a key hit in Venezuela’s decisive three-run rally in the seventh inning of the semifinals against Team Italy.

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Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

After leading Venezuela to a victory in the World Baseball Classic Final, Salvador Perez feels there’s not much more he needs to complete. 

“Now I feel like I can retire,” Perez joked to the FOX Sports WBC panel following Venezuela’s 3-2 victory over Team USA.

Perez had a significant impact on Venezuela’s win on Tuesday. He scored the first run after hitting a single into right field, coming around when his Kansas City Royals‘ teammate Maikel Garcia hit a sacrifice fly. He helped prepare Venezuela starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, spending time with him Monday night, telling him, “Just make your pitch, we gone be fine.”

Then on Tuesday, Rodriguez pitched 5.1 scoreless innings, and didn’t shake off one pitch call Perez made. 

That’s the level of trust Perez’s teammates have in him. He left an indelible mark with his leadership throughout the entire World Baseball Classic tournament. 

“Salvador Perez behind the plate, he is absolutely solid,” FOX Sports’ David Ortiz said. “That’s why he has been in this game for so long. And he need to lead this ball club, and giving guidance to the pitching staff. That’s why this guy was hitting the spot. And I tell you guys, he’s one of the best at framing pitches behind the plate.”

“You remind me of two people,” FOX Sports’ Alex Rodriguez said. “Magic Johnson and Big Papi. Two champions people love and respect.”

Perez became emotional when he heard that comment. All he strives to do is be a role model for Venezuelan kids and baseball players that come after him. 

“I hope the young guys look at it, and try to be the same,” Perez said. 

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge has said that his No. 1 goal is to win a World Series, but he’s put that quest on a brief hold to captain Team USA at the World Baseball Classic.

“Now that I got a USA jersey on and ‘USA’ across my chest, my main focus right now is to go out there and win a gold medal for those guys,” Judge said in an interview with fellow Yankees legend and MLB on FOX analyst Derek Jeter.

This is Judge’s first time participating in the World Baseball Classic. He passed on the opportunity to represent Team USA in 2023 after he signed a nine-year, $360 million contract to stay in the Bronx through 2031 and was named Yankees team captain.

Four years later, Judge is captaining Team USA at the tournament, and the three-time American League MVP isn’t taking the job lightly.

“My job is just to get the best out of every single guy in that room,” Judge said. “I told the guys in the very beginning: I’m an open book; lean on me.”

He’s also motivated by the Team USA squad that fell short against Shohei Ohtani and Samurai Japan in 2023.

“I think of Paul Goldschmidt,” Judge said of his Yankees and Team USA teammate. “He did it the previous couple of years, and he talked about how much it hurt coming up short in ’23. I want to finish it off for guys like him, Kyle Schwarber, DeRo. They all came up short, but it’s time to finish it off.”

Judge and Team USA will have the opportunity to avenge the disappointment of 2023 in the 2026 World Baseball Classic final on Tuesday against Venezuela. They’re hoping to be the latest American team to bring home the gold after the men’s and women’s hockey teams reached the summit at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Italy. 

“I think just watching them — both of them — leave it all on the ice … I think that was pretty cool to watch. Just like us, they’re grinding with guys they’re usually playing against, or competing against. Rival teams.”

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Team USA and Venezuela needed to win low-scoring affairs to punch their tickets into Tuesday’s World Baseball Classic final. However, Derek Jeter believes that the championship matchup might be a bit different.

After the two winning sides scored a combined six runs in their semifinal victories, Jeter predicted that the USA-Venezuela matchup will be a high-scoring affair. 

“There’s no easy outs in either lineup,” Jeter said on FS1’s postgame show following Venezuela’s 4-2 win over Italy on Tuesday. “Every pitch is important. Sometimes when you’re a pitcher and navigating through a lineup, you have a few guys where you’re able to breathe. You fall behind, and you may be able to throw a ball over the plate. Neither side can do that. You’re going to have to focus one through nine for nine innings. 

“I expect the offense to show up — I expect the offense to show up on both sides tomorrow night.”

Between the USA and Venezuela rosters, there are 20 All-Star hitters set to play in Tuesday’s final. But the two teams haven’t provided a ton of fireworks to this point. Venezuela has scored five or fewer runs in three of its first six games. The same goes for Team USA, which has scored just seven total runs in the knockout stage.

So, with that in mind, David Ortiz is anticipating more of the same in Tuesday’s final. 

“The pitching that I saw from the U.S. last night, and the pitching that I saw from Venezuela tonight, it’s going to be a battle,’ Ortiz said. “We always talk about good pitching going to stop good offense. If you look at it properly, both teams haven’t been able to attack like everybody expect. It’s going to be the battle of the pitching tomorrow. That’s what I expect.”

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What was key to helping the USA and Venezuela punch their tickets to the WBC final on Tuesday were strong performances from their respective bullpens. Team USA’s bullpen didn’t allow a run in over five innings of work in its semifinal win over the Domincan Republic. Venezuela’s bullpen, meanwhile, didn’t surrender a run in 7 ⅔ innings of work on Monday.

That’s why Alex Rodriguez believes it’s vital for both teams to get out to an early lead in Tuesday’s championship battle. 

“Whoever is going to win tomorrow night is going to have to do it early, because both bullpens are lights out,” Rodriguez said. “The last nine outs aren’t going to be fun either way. So, it’s vital to be ahead in the first six innings.”

No matter what happens, though, Rodriguez expects the World Baseball Classic to live up to the hype.

“This is going to be must-see TV,” Rodriguez said. “I know we had the Oscars a couple of nights ago, but this is going to be like an Oscars because these teams have played the best, you’re going to have stars all over the place and I cannot wait to think about tomorrow.”

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Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Maikel Garcia has won a playoff series in his young career with the Kansas City Royals, but the star infielder might have had the biggest moment of his baseball life in Venezuela’s 4-2 win over Italy in the semifinal of the World Baseball Classic. Garcia seems to feel that way, too.

Following Monday’s win, Garcia shared how special the win was for him during his postgame interview with the FS1 crew. 

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“Big leagues is not like this,” Garcia said. “This is amazing. This is different. I think this is going to help me to play better in the big leagues.”

In a follow-up, Derek Jeter asked Garcia if the environment in Kansas City was anything like what he experienced in Miami’s loanDepot on Monday during his time in Kansas City. 

“Not even close,” Garcia replied.

Garcia played a key role in electrifying the Venezuelan crowd on Monday. He went 2 for 4 at the plate, with one of those hits knocking in what would be the game-winning run. Garcia hit a single to left off Italy pitcher Michael Lorenzen in the seventh inning that gave Venezuela a 3-2 lead. That hit was sandwiched between a pair of other base knocks that helped Venezuela rally from a 2-1 deficit. 

Two of the game’s top hitters, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Luis Arraez, were the other two players from Venezuela who contributed to the seventh-inning comeback. But Garcia credited someone who wasn’t in Venezuela’s lineup for helping lift the ballclub toward an appearance in the World Baseball Classic final against Team USA: Royals catcher Salvador Perez. 

“Before we got here, he told me about [how] it’s different,” Garcia said of Perez. “We played before in winter ball. This is different than winter ball. It’s loud. There’s a lot of people from different countries. We have to make the plays and play good. He’s a great captain. He’s helped me a lot in the big leagues and he did a great job last night. Thank God we have him here.” 

Venezuela will take on the USA in the World Baseball Classic final at 8 p.m. ET on FOX, the FOX Sports app and FOX One. 

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Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Venezuela is off to its first World Baseball Classic final on Tuesday night, but it used up a lot of its biggest bullpen arms in the process.

While the USA had a day off on Monday night for its arms to rest, seven Venezuelan arms pitched in their 4-2 win over Italy.

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Keider Montero (Tigers), Ricardo Sánchez, Luinder Avila (Royals), Angel Zerpa (Brewers), Eduard Bazardo (Mariners), Andrés Machado and Daniel Palencia (Cubs) combined to allow two runs, both of which were given up by Montero.

The six relievers combined to throw 7 ⅔ scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and two walks. The Venezuelans dominated the Italian lineup while their bats scored three times in the seventh inning to take the lead.

“They just threw everybody tonight,” MLB on FOX analyst Derek Jeter said after Tuesday’s game in Miami. 

The Venezuelans threw seven pitchers in their win over Japan on Saturday night, as well, with Bazardo, Zerpa, Machado and Palencia appearing in both games. Jeter pointed out that not only is that a potentially heavy workload at any time of year, but this is the time of year, teams are more focused on their pitchers making it healthily to opening day than anything else.

Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will be on the mound for Venezuela against Team USA on Tuesday night in Miami. Rodriguez last pitched on Wednesday in a loss to the Dominican Republic, allowing three runs on three hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

Jeter likes the matchup for the Americans.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say they get it going tomorrow night,” Jeter said.

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Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports