The Athletic has live coverage of USA vs. Venezuela in the 2026 World Baseball Classic final.
Much is on the line for this finale matchup — Team USA will be seeking redemption with a roster built for nothing less than a championship after falling short to Shohei Ohtani and Team Japan in 2023, while Venezuela is attempting to secure its first-ever WBC title.
Venezuela vs. United States
When: Tuesday, March 17, 8 p.m. ET
Where: loanDepot Park in Miami
Watch: FOX
How Team USA got here: A favorite coming into the WBC, Team USA was humbled by a pool-play loss to Italy and made it into the quarterfinals only as the Pool B runner-up. But the team has since won a two-run game against Canada and a one-run game against the Dominican Republic to advance to the WBC final for the second tournament in a row.
The Americans lost to Japan in the 2023 WBC championship game, and the spectacle of that showdown — Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout in the main event — seemed to raise the level of interest in the World Baseball Classic as a whole. The top American pitchers agreed to join the team for this year’s tournament, making this the best roster Team USA has assembled. It now has a chance to win its second WBC title and first since 2017.
How Team Venezuela got here: Advancing out of pool play was expected, and indeed Team Venezuela made short work of Israel, Nicaragua and the Netherlands before losing a much-anticipated showdown with the Dominican Republic. The 3-1 record — like Team USA’s — was enough to move on, and Team Venezuela got its biggest win of the tournament in the quarterfinals when it beat defending champion Japan.
On paper, Venezuela’s semifinal matchup with Team Italy looked relatively easy — Venezuela had the far more experienced lineup and the deeper bullpen — but the scrappy Italian team took a 2-1 lead into the seventh inning before the Venezuelan lineup erupted with three runs to move on. This is Venezuela’s first appearance in the WBC championship game. In 2023, it was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Team USA.
Star gazing: There’s never been this much American buzz around a World Baseball Classic, and much of the increased interest has come from the team’s star power. Manager Mark DeRosa assembled something close to his absolute dream team. His pitching staff — which was the most improved part of the roster — largely lived up to its billing with the lowest WHIP and most strikeouts in the tournament. Mason Miller, Garrett Whitlock and Griffin Jax have been dominant, and David Bednar has been effective (if occasionally shaky).
But the real star power — and this is true for both teams — is the lineup. Team USA is still waiting for Bryce Harper and Cal Raleigh to take off, but Aaron Judge, Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Schwarber, Roman Anthony, Brice Turang and Pete Crow-Armstrong each have an OPS of .979 or better in the WBC, and Bobby Witt Jr. has a .423 on-base percentage with three stolen bases. Expectations have never been higher for Team USA, and the Americans have given themselves a chance to live up to them with a championship.
Great unknown: Team Venezuela doesn’t quite have Team USA’s star power, but its lineup certainly isn’t a bunch of no-names. Ronald Acuña Jr. is the leadoff hitter and headliner, and there are big-time major-leaguers throughout this lineup: Maikel Garcia, Luis Arráez, Eugenio Suárez, Ezequiel Tovar, Gleyber Torres, Willson and William Contreras — and that’s not even mentioning team captain Salvador Perez. The point is, you’ve heard of these guys. There’s not going to be a batter in this game you don’t already know.
But when the bullpen door opens, those names might not be so familiar – but they’re a key reason Venezuela is in this spot. Six relievers combined for 7 2/3 scoreless innings against Team Italy on Monday, and Andrés Machado, Angel Zerpa, José Buttó and Daniel Palencia in particular have combined for 18 1/3 scoreless innings in this tournament. They have allowed seven hits while walking two and striking out 23. The bullpen has been an unsung strength of Team Venezuela, but it’s worth noting that Machado, Zerpa and Palencia each pitched Monday night.
