By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer
MIAMI (AP) — Eugenio Suárez and his Venezuelan teammates stood on the stage behind second base with shiny medals draped over their proud chests, belting out their national anthem accompanied by tens of thousands of fans who remained in the ballpark a half-hour after the final out.
Back home, people were singing their praises, too.
Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic for the first time Tuesday night, beating the United States 3-2 in the championship game on Suárez’s tiebreaking double in the top of the ninth inning.
“They were with us here in our hearts,” Venezuela captain Salvador Perez said of his countrymen. “The World Series, as you all know, is one of the most important championships in the major leagues, but when you fight for your country, that goes beyond. That feeling, the country where you were born and raised, the sacrifices made by our parents, those people that helped us, that’s why this means a lot to me and to Venezuela.”
Bryce Harper’s two-run homer with two outs in the eighth tied the score for the U.S., but Suárez hit a go-ahead double in the ninth and Daniel Palencia pitched a perfect bottom half.
“Baseball wanted us to fail, to fall down,” Venezuela manager Omar López said. “You put aside your individuality and you are going to achieve those results.”
Venezuela acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared Wednesday a National Day of Joy and made it a non-working holiday except for essential workers.
“My country needs that championship,” star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. said, wiping tears from his eyes. “I just want to make my people proud. That’s what I did today.”
In the capital of Caracas, thousands also sang the anthem as they gathered in the Plaza de la Juventud (Plaza of Youth) to the racket of honking horns from cars and motorcycles.
“I’m overjoyed. It’s too much for me!” high school student Yorleiny Mestra said. “The United States is a superpower, and the fact that we beat them makes me very proud of Venezuela.”
Maikel Garcia’s third-inning sacrifice fly and Wilyer Abreu’s fifth-inning homer off rookie Nolan McLean built a 2-0 lead before a roaring, pro-Latin America sellout crowd of 36,190 at loanDepot park. Left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez and a string of lights-out relievers limited the Americans to two hits through the seventh.
“We were feeling at home. There were more Venezuelan fans than American fans,” Garcia said.
Bobby Witt Jr. walked with two outs in the eighth and Harper drove the second straight changeup from Andrés Machado over the center-field fence.
Boston’s Garrett Whitlock started the ninth instead of San Diego’s Mason Miller, perhaps baseball’s best reliever, because U.S. manager Mark DeRosa promised the Padres he would use Miller only in a save situation.
Luis Arraez walked, and pinch-runner Javier Sanoja stole second just ahead of catcher Will Smith’s one-hop throw. Sanoja came home when Suárez doubled to the left-center gap on a full-count changeup. Suárez spread his arms wide and pointed to the sky at second base while teammates streamed from the dugout to greet Sanoja at the plate.
“We’re warriors,” Abreu said. “We’re going to fight for that game to win it.”
López awoke Tuesday to three text messages denying him use of pitchers but said he successfully negotiated to lift the restrictions.
Pitching for the third time in four days, Palencia struck out two to finish a three-hitter for his third save of the WBC, ending the game by getting Roman Anthony to swing under a 99.7 mph fastball.
As Venezuelans ran onto the infield to celebrate, the dismayed Americans stared while leaning on their dugout railing.
“Nobody believed in Venezuela but now we win the championship,” Suárez said. “This is a celebration for all the Venezuelan country.”
While the U.S., Japan and the Dominican Republic got much of the attention ahead of the sixth edition of the 20-nation event, Venezuela’s success was not that surprising. Sixty-three players born in Venezuela appeared on Major League Baseball opening-day rosters last year, second-most from outside the U.S. behind the Dominican Republic’s 100.
Garcia was selected the tournament MVP after hitting .385 with a WBC-high 10 hits and seven RBIs.
“They underestimated Venezuela because we had never won anything, but we are powerful,” Garcia said. “We won today, and I expect that in the new ranking, we are No. 1 and Japan is No. 2.”
Despite a heralded roster of stars led by Aaron Judge, Harper and Paul Skenes, the U.S. remained without a title since 2017. DeRosa also led the 2023 American team that lost the final 3-2 to Japan and would come back for 2029 if offered another chance.
“Ultimately, it’s who gets hot at the right time, who gets a big swing,” he said. “It just seemed like we couldn’t get the offense going the entire tournament.”
Rodríguez (4 1/3 innings) was followed by Eduard Bazardo (two outs), José Buttó (three), Angel Zerpa (two), Machado (four) and Palencia.
Judge was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts and hit .222 with five RBIs in the tournament, while Harper improved to .214 with three RBIs with two hits against Venezuela. Alex Bregman batted .143 with four RBIs. The U.S. scored nine runs in the three knockout-round games while batting .188.
After the final out, Harper walked over to Venezuelan players to shake their hands.
“I understand what it takes to win games,” he said. “They had a great tournament, and I just wanted to let them know: congratulations. They’re the best team in the world.”
Ahead of a matchup with political overtones, players and coaches avoided discussing the government turmoil between the nations, heightened when the U.S. military captured Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in January.
Venezuela became the second Latin American nation to win the WBC, after the Dominican Republic in 2013. The U.S. has just one title, in 2017.
Repeatedly during the tournament, Venezuelan players described the team as a family, and brothers Willson and William Contreras went on the podium together to receive their medals and sing the Venezuelan anthem, “Gloria al Bravo Pueblo (Glory to the Brave People).”
“We play with passion, with love, because we feel the jersey,” Suárez said.
U.S. players had arrived at loanDepot park in game-worn U.S. Olympic hockey jerseys coordinated by outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Jack Hughes, who scored the gold medal-winning goal against Canada last month.
In a darkened ballpark filled by fans wearing wristbands with festive blinking lights, Judge and Arraez led the teams down the foul lines for the introductions while carrying their nation’s flags.
After the game, many American players mingled with their families on the field while Venezuelans celebrated in their clubhouse.
“Disappointed,” Judge said. “We came here, all of us put on this uniform, signed up to go out there and get a gold medal.”
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Associated Press Writer Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas contributed to this report.
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