10:54 p.m. ET: Venezuela are the winners of the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
After grabbing a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth, Daniel Palencia sat the Team USA offense down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame (including two strikeouts) to give Venezuela their first World Baseball Classic championship.
Check out the winning moment below:
What a run by Team Venezuela, who were not on most people’s radar going into the tournament. However, they took care of business against the defending champions in Japan and a surprise contender in Italy before holding Team USA in check tonight. They earned it every step of the way, with a talented and deep lineup and a clutch bullpen. Venezuela manager Omar López did a fantastic job pushing the right buttons when it mattered. What a gift to the people of Venezuela during a complicated moment for the country.
As for Team USA, they come up painfully short in their second-straight World Baseball Classic.
10:48 p.m. ET: It’s 3-2 Valenzuela as we move to the bottom of the ninth inning of the World Baseball Classic championship game.
Daniel Palencia will attempt to finish off Team USA. Kyle Schwarber, Gunnar Henderson, and Roman Anthony await. This is going to be fun.
10:38 p.m. ET: Team Venezuela fought right back in the top of the ninth inning, as Eugenio Suárez delivered a go-ahead RBI double against Garrett Whitlock to make it a 3-2 ballgame.
The go-ahead run was set up by Luis Arraez drawing a leadoff walk against Whitlock. Javier Sanoja came on as a pinch-runner and stole second base after the call was upheld via replay review.
What a game. And we still have more to go.
10:25 p.m. ET: It’s a brand new ballgame in Miami.
After sleepwalking through the first seven innings, Team USA’s offense finally came to life in the bottom of the eighth inning. Andrés Machado issued a two-out walk to Bobby Witt Jr, and Bryce Harper made him pay for it with a game-tying two-run homer.
Some late-inning drama is a great way to cap off what has been a wonderful tournament. Strap in, folks.
10:13 p.m. ET: Make that seven scoreless innings for Team Venezuela against this vaunted Team USA lineup.
Roman Anthony drew a two-out walk against Angel Zerpa in the bottom of the sixth before Venezuela manager Omar López turned to Andrés Machado against Will Smith. The move worked, as Machado was able to get Smith on a harmless pop up.
Can Venezuela hold it for six more outs? Their bullpen has certainly been equal to the task of late.
9:52 p.m. ET: Aaron Judge just came up to the plate as the tying run after Bryce Harper reached on a two-out single. However, Judge was unable to capitalize, as José Buttó worked back from a 3-1 count to get the three-time AL MVP to ground out to thwart the threat. Look at the emotion from Buttó as Venezuela moves another step closer to a title.
Venezuela still leads 2-0 as the WBC final heads to the seventh inning in Miami. It’s getting late quick here.
9:40 p.m. ET: Both teams are officially into their bullpens in this World Baseball Classic championship game.
Eduardo Rodriguez just exited after delivering 4 1/3 scoreless innings, which Team USA was probably just fine with. However, Eduard Bazardo entered and struck out Will Smith looking before getting Roman Anthony to ground out weakly to end the bottom of the fifth.
This Venezuela bullpen continues to come up huge while Team USA’s lineup is looking lifeless as they try for their first WBC title since 2017.
It’s still 2-0 Venezuela as we move into the sixth.
9:26 p.m. ET: Wilyer Abreu led off the top of the fifth inning with a solo homer against Nolan McLean to give Team Venezuela a 2-0 lead in the WBC final against Team USA.
This is just the latest bit of heroics from Abreu, as he also slugged a dramatic go-ahead three-run homer to help dispatch Japan in the WBC quarterfinals.
Many have said it’s just a matter of time before Team USA’s bats wake up, but they are running out of time to do so.
9:18 p.m. ET: Eduardo Rodriguez has largely struggled over the last two seasons with the Diamondbacks, but he’s looking like the best version of himself so far tonight. And at just the right time for Team Venezuela.
The veteran southpaw worked around a two-out walk to Kyle Schwarber and now has four scoreless innings under his belt against the star-studded USA lineup. Rodriguez has allowed just one hit while striking out four. That includes two strikeouts against Aaron Judge.
1-0 Venezuela as we move to the fifth in Miami.
8:52 p.m. ET: Team Venezuela just got on the board in the third inning.
After Nolan McLean threw a wild pitch to advance runners to second and third, Maikel Garcia followed with a sacrifice fly to give Venezuela an early 1-0 lead.
McLean got Luis Arraez on a ground out to escape further damage, but Venezuela strikes first in the WBC championship game.
As for Garcia, he could be trending toward WBC MVP status if Venezuela can pull off this upset. Stay tuned.
8:43 p.m. ET: We’re scoreless going into the third inning in Miami.
We noted that Mason Miller will be available for Team USA tonight while David Bednar will not be, but Venezuela also has some things to think about with their bullpen.
Per Tom Verducci on the FOX broadcast, Venezuela manager Omar Lopez confirmed that Cubs closer Daniel Palencia will only pitch in a save situation and Mariners reliever Eduard Bazardo is only available for one inning.
8:37 p.m. ET: Nolan McLean was a bright spot for the Mets despite the team missing out on the playoffs last season. Now he’s announcing his presence on the national stage.
Look out, baseball world. That stuff is just plain nasty. And he has the athleticism and mentality to match.
8:30 p.m. ET: Team USA went down in order against Eduardo Rodriguez, including a strikeout of Aaron Judge to end the opening frame.
8:24 p.m. ET: Nolan McLean needed just five pitches to get through the first inning. Ronald Acuña Jr. led off the game with a single, but McLean got Maikel Garcia to ground into a double play before retiring Luis Arraez on a fly out to center field.
McLean had a great first inning in his last outing before eventually getting unraveled. We’ll see if he can get over the hump this time.
8:09 p.m. ET: Take a look at Team USA and Venezuela taking the field just a few minutes ago. Does this get you excited or what? This event has truly arrived as a gem in all of sports.
I went back and added the video with sound from the stadium, so you can really feel the electric atmosphere.
7:33 p.m. ET: Want the latest example why this tournament means so much to the players? Check out Willson Contreras’ jersey in advance of tonight’s WBC final.
Venezuela is looking for their first-ever WBC title. What a moment it would be during a tumultuous moment for the country. The passion and pride is palpable with this team.
6:17 p.m. ET: There was some uncertainty if closer Mason Miller would be available for tonight’s WBC final after he pitched two innings against the Dominican Republic, but Team USA manager Mark DeRosa confirms that the hard-throwing right-hander will be there if needed.
As for David Bednar, we’re less likely to see him after he pitched in both the quarterfinal and the semifinal.
5:57 p.m. ET: As we await first pitch of the WBC final, let’s take a look back at how this matchup came together.
How Team USA Got Here:
Record: 5-1
Team USA 15, Brazil 5
Team USA, Great Britain 1
Team USA 5, Mexico 3
Italy 8, Team USA 6
Team USA 5, Canada 3
Team USA 2, Dominican Republic 1
In the semifinal on Sunday, Roman Anthony slugged a go-ahead solo homer in the fourth inning which proved to the the difference as USA’s bullpen shut down a potent lineup from the Dominican Republic.
How Venezuela Got Here:
Record: 5-1
Venezuela 7, Netherlands 2
Venezuela 11, Israel 3
Venezuela 4, Nicaragua 0
Dominican Republic 7, Venezeula 5
Venezuela 8, Japan 5
Venezuela 4, Italy 2
Coming off a shocking comeback to put away defending champion Japan in the quarterfinal, Venezuela punched their tickets to the WBC final with a win over Italy in the semifinals on Monday night. They pulled ahead for good courtesy of a seventh-inning rally against Michael Lorenzen.
5:35 p.m. ET: Hoping to follow in the footsteps of the Gold Medal-winning U.S. Men’s Hockey Team, the members of Team USA are sporting some special digs going into tonight’s WBC championship matchup.
5:30 p.m. ET: After a thrilling and surprising 2026 World Baseball Classic tournament, everything comes down to one game: Team USA, who were the favorites coming into this year’s WBC, against Valenzuela, the tournament’s biggest surprise.
The action gets underway at 8 p.m. ET from loanDepot park in Miami, Florida. You can watch it live on FOX.
I’ll be here throughout the evening to guide you through the festivities and the drama as we witness a new champion.
With a couple of hours to go before first pitch, let’s take a look at the lineups and starting pitchers for the WBC final.
Team USA
1) Bobby Witt Jr., SS
2) Bryce Harper, 1B
3) Aaron Judge, RF
4) Kyle Schwarber, DH
5) Alex Bregman, 3B
6) Roman Anthony, LF
7) Will Smith, C
8) Brice Turang, 2B
9) Bryon Buxton, CF
SP – Nolan McLean
Venezuela
1) Ronald Acuña Jr., RF
2) Maikel Garcia, 3B
3) Luis Arraez, 1B
4) Eugenio Suárez, DH
5) Gleyber Torres, 2B
6) Ezequiel Tovar, SS
7) Wilyer Abreu, LF
8) Salvador Perez, C
9) Jackson Chourio, CF
SP – Eduardo Rodriguez
The U.S. will function as the home team after winning a coin flip.
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