Eugenio Suárez threw his head back and looked up at the stadium's rafters. The thunderous sound that echoed off the steel roof of LoanDepot Park enveloped the Venezuelan designated hitter as he stretched out his arms and called for more.
Suárez's RBI double in the top of the ninth inning gave Venezuela the lead for good in a thrilling 3-2 victory over the powerful United States team in the World Baseball Classic championship game on Tuesday night. It was a resounding finale for Venezuela's first title in this tournament, a perfect representation of what this nation means to baseball and vice versa.
On a night where every out was ecstasy and every run an explosion, Eduardo Rodriguez dominated one of the most fearsome lineups ever assembled, while the Venezuelan players provided the energy, Wilyer Abreu's huge home run in the fifth inning brought the power, Suarez's timely double gave the final lead, and the strong Venezuelan presence within a boisterous crowd of 36,490 fans provided the noise.
Suárez's RBI double in the top of the ninth inning gave Venezuela the lead for good in a thrilling 3-2 victory over the powerful United States team in the World Baseball Classic championship game on Tuesday night. It was a resounding finale for Venezuela's first title in this tournament, a perfect representation of what this nation means to baseball and vice versa.
The fans proudly waving their yellow, blue, and red flags had much to celebrate, many reasons to dance in the aisles. Although the game remained close for most of the night, Venezuela was in control for the majority of the time, except when Bryce Harper jolted the United States out of its offensive slump with a towering two-run homer that tied the game in the bottom of the eighth inning.
In the end, the Americans' late reaction only further fueled the excitement of the moment for Venezuela, who responded immediately with a run in the ninth inning against reliever Garrett Whitlock, thanks to Luis Arráez's walk to open the inning and Suárez's line drive that landed deep in left-center field.
That timely hit by Suárez gave control back to a Venezuelan team that had it early and frequently.
Salvador Pérez, the heart and soul of the Venezuelan World Baseball Classic team, for which he has played in every tournament since 2013, singled to lead off the third inning, and one out later, Ronald Acuña Jr. drew a walk. A wild pitch by Nolan McLean put both runners in scoring position, and Venezuela capitalized with a sacrifice fly by Maikel García that put them ahead 1-0.
Later, in the fifth inning, Abreu appeared, and his enormous three-run home run was the highlight of Venezuela's victory that eliminated defending champion Japan from the tournament. This time, McLean left a fastball right in the middle of the plate, and Abreu sent it 414 feet over the center field fence to give his team a 2-0 lead.
Venezuela entered this final with the distinct disadvantage of playing on consecutive days, especially after needing 23 bullpen outs to overcome Italy in the semifinal. And while Rodríguez has had great success in the Major Leagues, his most recent performance—including not only an ERA above 5 in the last two seasons with the D-backs, but also a rough outing against the Dominican Republic in this tournament—suggested an uncertain matchup.
However, E-Rod was brilliant that night, dominating the U.S. offense for 4.1 innings, allowing only one hit and one walk. He then handed the game over to the bullpen, which, as on the previous night, was efficient. When José Buttó got U.S. captain Aaron Judge to ground out on a slider to leave a runner stranded in the sixth inning, his Venezuelan teammates leapt from the dugout to celebrate that huge out.
But despite appearing lackluster at times in this tournament and in his first three plate appearances in this game, the U.S. star-studded lineup finally showed some life with two outs in the eighth inning. With Andrés Machado on the mound, Bobby Witt Jr. drew a walk. After fielding a changeup for a ball on the first pitch, Bryce Harper swung hard at the next pitch and tossed his bat in the air as the long fly ball cleared the center-field wall. The American fans erupted in excitement, and the game was tied 2-2.
But not for long. Once again, in the ninth chapter, it was the euphoria of the Vinotinto team that prevailed and, in the end, decided the night.
Source: Taken from the official MLB website.
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