Kevin Barral

Image courtesy of Sam Navarro-Imagn Images In one of the craziest games of the World Baseball Classic, it is Venezuela who came out on top, defeating Team USA by a final score of 3-2, claiming their first-ever title in the tournament. For the United States, this marks its second straight defeat in the title game. It all started with Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound. After struggling against the Dominican Republic in his first World Baseball Classic start, allowing three runs (two home runs) in a 7-5 loss, he bounced back on Tuesday night, going 4 1/3 shutout innings, limiting Team USA to just one hit in his start. After retiring the first seven hitters, Rodriguez’s lone base hit allowed was in the bottom of the third inning, which was off Brice Turang. Rodriguez then proceeded to retire four straight before surrendering a walk to Kyle Schwarber. The Venezuela bullpen did not fail either, as they shut out the United States, limiting them to just one hit, a Bryce Harper single in the bottom of the sixth inning. Nolan McLean of the New York Mets got the start for Mark DeRosa and Team USA on Wednesday night, going 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits, one walk, and striking out four. The first run that McLean allowed came on a sac fly from Maikel Garcia. In the top of the fifth inning, Boston Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu hit his second home run of the tournament, going 414 feet deep to straightaway center, extending Venezuela’s lead, 2-0. McLean’s fastball topped out at 99.2 mph, and half of his strikeouts were swinging strikeouts. The sweeper, which he threw 25.7% of the time last season, generated six whiffs. Two of his four strikeouts came on the sweeper. Per Sarah Langs, McLean threw the seven fastest pitches tracked in his career tonight, across MLB, WBC, Triple-A, and spring training. Brad Keller, who entered in relief, recorded strikeout number 81 of the tournament for the United States, which is the most in a single World Baseball Classic. They surpassed Japan, which recorded 80 strikeouts in 2023. Venezuela had a flashback moment to the 2023 World Baseball Classic, as in the bottom of the eighth inning, with a runner on first base, Bryce Harper hit a two-run shot to tie the game at three. Harper’s home run went 432 feet into straightaway center field. The hero of the night was Eugenio Suarez, who drove in pinch-runner Javier Sanoja to make it a 3-2 game. It marked Suarez's fourth RBI of the tournament, and it was likely the biggest one. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Daniel Palecnia came to close it out, striking out Kyle Schwarber, inducing a pop fly from Gunnar Henderson, and striking out Roman Anthony to win it all. View full article

Image courtesy of Sam Navarro-Imagn Images For the first time since 2009, Venezuela has advanced to the World Baseball Classic final as they defeated Francisco Cervelli and Italy by a final score of 4-2. Detroit Tigers starter Keider Montero took the mound for Venezuela, but on a restriction of three innings, 50 pitches. After a scoreless first inning, Montero ran into some trouble in the second, surrendering a base hit to Zach Dezenzo, walking Jac Caglianone, and Andrew Fischer to load the bases. Montero walked his third straight hitter, J.J. D'Orazio, allowing the first run of the game to score. Venezuela manager Omar Lopez then took out his starter and opted for Ricardo Sanchez, who induced an RBI groundout from Dante Nori, making it 2-0. For the Italians, manager Francisco Cervelli had originally announced Michael Lorenzen as the starting pitcher, but on the morning of the game, Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extrabase reported that Aaron Nola would instead be starting the game, with Michael Lorenzen possibly following him. Cervelli said that it was a gut decision, feeling like Nola would be his best option that day in a win-or-go-home game. In four innings of work, the longtime Phillies pitcher surrendered one run on four hits (one home run), one walk, and struck out three. The lone run came on a Eugenio Suarez solo homer in the top of the fourth inning, making it a 2-1 game. As expected, Lorenzen followed Nola, and that’s where the struggles for Italy arose. In the top of the seventh inning, Lorenzen walked Gleyber Torres, but followed it up with back-to-back strikeouts of Wilyer Abreu and William Contreras. A Jackson Chourio single moved Torres to third, and that is when three straight RBI would give Venezuela a 4-2 lead, one they never looked back on. Italy was presented with multiple chances to put up some runs, but they finished the game going 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position. The championship matchup is now set. The United States will play "host" to Venezuela on Wednesday at 8:00 pm. This will mark the second championship appearance for Venezuela, first since 2009, while for Team USA, it will be their second straight appearance in the final. These two teams matched up in the last WBC, in the semifinal round, with the United States coming out on top thanks to Trea Turner. Kevin Barral is on-site in Miami covering the World Baseball Classic for DiamondCentric. View full article

Image courtesy of Sam Navarro-Imagn Images No team had been able to keep the high-powered Dominican Republic offense at bay for nine innings. On Sunday night, Mark DeRosa and the United States were able to limit the DR to just one run on eight hits en route to a 2-1 victory, sending the USA back to the World Baseball Classic finals in back-to-back tournaments. Luis Severino started the game for the Dominican Republic and in 3 1/3 innings of work, struck out six USA hitters, including back-to-back strikeouts of Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber to get out of a jam in the top of the third inning. The United States would get to Severino in the top of the fourth, as Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson took him deep for a solo homer, tying the game at one. After recording the first out in the fourth, he was taken out of the game in place of Gregory Soto. Soto was only able to record one out in his third appearance of the tournament. Before he was taken out of the game in place of Juan Mejia, Soto surrendered the second home run for the United States. This time, it was Stoman Douglas alum Roman Anthony, who took Soto 421 feet deep to straightaway center. Anthony’s home run was the 7th in the World Baseball Classic by a player under the age of 22. "Roman's special," USA manager Mark DeRosa said postgame. "At 21 years old, to be able to handle a moment and the quality of at-bat is a testament to the kind of player he is right now and is going to become. Just special to be able to stand in there left on left against (Gregory) Soto, work the count and get a pitch to drive, so I expect big things from him." The Dominican Republic wasted no time getting on the board, as Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero took Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates deep for his third home run of the tournament, 15th overall for the Dominican Republic, which is the most home runs hit in a single tournament, surpassing Mexico in 2009 with 14. Caminero’s three home runs are tied for the most in a single World Baseball Classic before turning 23, with 2017 Carlos Correa. His homer went 401 feet to left field, giving the DR an early 1-0 lead. Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who made the start for the United States, went 4.1 innings of work, allowing one run on six hits (one home run) and striking out two. Skenes’ fastball averaged 97.6 mph and topped out at 99.2 mph. His well-known splitter generated four whiffs and struck Austin Wells out with it. The Dominican Republic wasted no time getting on the board, as Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero took Skenes deep for his third home run of the tournament, 15th overall for the Dominican Republic, which is the most home runs hit in a single tournament, surpassing Mexico in 2009 with 14. Caminero’s three home runs are tied for the most in a single World Baseball Classic before turning 23, with 2017 Carlos Correa. His homer went 401 feet to left field, giving the DR an early 1-0 lead. After many doubted the US bullpen, they threw 4.2 innings of shutout ball, striking out six in the process. The USA bullpen was only tacked on for two hits. "Hats off to our pitching staff, to be honest with you," DeRosa said postgame. "Incredible lineup that the Dominican Republic throws at you, and incredible respect for it. That was high-level baseball at its finest. For our bullpen to come in and do the job that they did, the Dominican did not stop; there was constant traffic, never relaxed. Just a game that we will remember forever." In the bottom of the seventh inning, with one out and runners on the corners for the Dominican Republic, New York Yankees reliever David Bednar struck out both Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ketel Marte swinging to get out of the jam. Garrett Whitlock pitched the bottom of the eighth, and he proceeded to strike out both Juan Soto and Manny Machado. Team USA brought in San Diego Padres star closer Mason Miller to close out the game. Unlike his last time pitched at loanDepot park, where he surrendered a walk-off grand slam to Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers, Miller struck out Junior Caminero and Geraldo Perdomo and notched his second save of the WBC. One of the most controversial calls of the game was the strike three to Perdomo, which was low. With no ABS in place for the World Baseball Classic, the call stood final, and the game ended, but many wonder what could've been if the call had been overturned. Dominican Republic manager Albert Pujols told the media that he doesn't think about that final pitch, and that wasn't the story of the game. When DeRosa was asked about it after the game, he said he assumes that ABS will likely be in the next WBC. "I'm a fan of it," he said. Miller's availability for Tuesday's final is "TBD," but he will do “everything in his power” to be out there for the final. With the win, the United States moves on to the World Baseball Classic championship game. Their opponent, Venezuela or Italy, will play on Monday at 8:00 pm. Tuesday is the WBC final, also at 8:00 pm. New York Mets starter Nolan McLean will start for Team USA on Tuesday. Kevin Barral is on-site in Miami covering the World Baseball Classic for DiamondCentric. View full article

Image courtesy of Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Lead-off home runs from Ronald Acuna Jr. and Shohei Ohtani are how Saturday night’s World Baseball Classic quarterfinals game began. After some back and forth, Venezuela would come out on top, defeating the 2023 World Baseball Classic champ Japan by a final score of 8-5, reaching their first-ever Olympics, which will take place in 2028 in Los Angeles. Following the game, Omar Lopez, Venezuela's manager, entered the press conference room with a hat with the Venezuelan flag and the number "58" citing its importance and how it correlates with the Olympics. "It is the international code to call Venezuela," Lopez said. "So if you know someone in Venezuela, call them and tell them that Venezuela is in the Olympics and we are in the semifinal of the WBC." No game in MLB history has featured leadoff homers from two players who had already won MVP in their careers, but on Saturday night, Acuña, followed by Ohtani, both did it. It also marked the first time in WBC history that this had happened. Acuña’s homer was on the second pitch of the game off Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The ball left the bat at 106.2 mph and went 401 feet to straightaway center field, giving Venezuela a 1-0 lead. This was Venezuela's first leadoff HR in WBC history, and the 13th in tournament history. Ohtani’s homer was off Ranger Suarez. The ball left the bat at 113.6 mph and went 427 feet to center field. It was Ohtani’s third home run of the World Baseball Classic, which tied the game at one apiece. Venezuela would respond in the top of the second inning thanks to Gleyber Torres’ RBI double, making it a 2-1 game. Manager Omar Lopez decided to intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani in the bottom of the third inning in favor of facing Teruaki Sato. He ripped a 108.6 mph RBI double to right field, tying the game. Shota Morishita, who had entered the game in the place of an injured Seiya Suzuki, who suffered right knee discomfort after attempting a stolen base, hit his first home run of the World Baseball Classic, a three-run homer, making it 5-2. Suarez's second World Baseball Classic start wasn’t much better than the first one, going 2 2/3 innings, allowing five runs off of three hits (two home runs), walking three, and striking out four. He finishes his 2026 WBC, allowing a total of six earned runs (11.57 ERA). As Venezuela trailed, one of the biggest pitching performances of the night came from Detroit Tigers minor league signing Emanuel De Jesus, who, in 2 1/3 innings of work, allowed one hit, walking one, and struck out three, with one of those strikeouts being Shohei Ohtani. “After his outing against Israel, the manager asked when De Jesus could pitch again,” Lopez said. “Depending on the opponent, I preferred Korea or Japan because of their left-handed hitters. He threw five innings the first time, so maybe three this time. If things had gone differently, I would have been criticized, but that was the plan. Butto had finished after two errors, and Zerpa was ready.” It wouldn’t be until the top of the fifth inning that Venezuela struck back. Kansas City Royals star third baseman Maikel Garcia took lefty Chihiro Sumida deep to make it a one-run ballgame. The ball left the bat at 104.1 mph and went 406 feet to left center. It marked Garcia’s first home run of the WBC. The biggest moment in the game, and possibly for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, was when Boston Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu took Hiromi Itoh deep for a three-run shot that went 409 feet into the second deck in right field. This marked Abreu’s first home run of the World Baseball Classic. This gave Venezuela a 7-5 lead. For Venezuela, the icing on the cake came in the top of the eighth inning, where a throwing error from Japan pitcher Atsuki Taneichi allowed Colorado Rockies shortstop Ezequiel to score from second base and take a commanding 8-5 lead. What’s Next? With the win, Venezuela will move on to the semifinal round of the World Baseball Classic, where they will play host to Italy on Monday at 8:00 pm. Although this went down as one of the greatest games in World Baseball Classic history, Sunday night’s matchup between the United States of America and the Dominican Republic may top this one. It’ll be Paul Skenes for the US and Luis Severino for the Dominican Republic. First pitch is at 8:00 pm from loanDepot park. Kevin Barral is in Miami covering the World Baseball Classic for DiamondCentric. View full article

Image courtesy of Jim Rassol-Imagn Images The Dominican Republic's potent offense continued to be in high gear on Friday night as they run-ruled Korea by a final score of 10-0, defeating them in seven innings. Although the DR offense was still as good as ever, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sanchez turned in a sensational start. The DR will now advance to the semifinal round, which will be against the winner of the United States-Canada game. After a start with mixed results from Cristopher Sanchez in the opening game for the DR against Nicaragua, he bounced back and went five shutout innings, allowing just one hit and one walk, striking out eight in the process. Of the eight strikeouts, six were swinging strikeouts. Sanchez finished his outing, generating 18 total whiffs, 11 of which came on the sinker. His sinker topped out at 96.9 mph. Of all his sliders and changeups that were swung at, they were all whiffs as well. Friday marked the final start for Sanchez in the World Baseball Classic, Dominican Republic manager Albert Pujols told reporters following the game. "I think you all know Cristopher was one of the best pitchers last season," Pujols said. "The way he prepares and works, and knowing the adjustments he needed to make, and same thing with the offense, you don't have a lot of information. You prepare yourself the best way you can, and Cristopher did a great job, giving us five innings, staying under the pitch limit." After not scoring in the first inning, Junior Caminero ripped an RBI double to left field, driving in Vladimir Guerrero Jr., making it a 1-0 game. Caminero advanced to third on the throw. An RBI groundout from Julio Rodriguez drove Caminero in and extended the DR lead, 2-0. After Marlins catcher Agustin Ramirez worked a walk and advanced to second on a base hit from Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres drove Ramirez in on an RBI single. In the bottom of the third, Guerrero drove in Juan Soto on an RBI double, and Manny Machado drove Guerrero in on an RBI single. With the bases loaded, Korea pitcher Been Gwak issued back-to-back walks, capping off the four-run bottom of the third. Austin Wells, who replaced Agustin Ramirez in the top of the seventh inning, hit his second home run of the World Baseball Classic, this time a three-run shot to win in knockout fashion. The ball left the bat at 107.0 mph and went 375 feet to right field. "The experience has been incredible," Wells said postgame. "Just being able to play alongside guys like Junior Caminero and the whole team, it's been an unbelievable honor being able to represent my family and the country of the Dominican Republic. This is something that I am never going to forget, and hopefully I will be able to have the opportunity to do this again." With the win, the Dominican Republic will play on Sunday at 8:00 pm against either the winner of the United States-Canada game. On Saturday, Venezuela and Japan will face off at 9:00 pm. It'll be Ranger Suarez on the bump for Omar Lopez's team, and for Hirokazu Ibata's club, Yoshinubo Yammamoto will get the start. In Houston, Italy and Puerto Rico will face off, and they play the winner of Venezuela/Japan on Monday night. Kevin Barral is on-site in Miami covering the World Baseball Classic for DiamondCentric. View full article

Image courtesy of Sam Navarro-Imagn Images In front of 36,230 fans who filled the seats at loanDepot park in Miami, Florida, the biggest matchup of the World Baseball Classic up to this point took place, with the undefeated Dominican Republic and Venezuela facing off. It would be Albert Pujols' Dominican Republic squad, powered by four homers, that defeated Omar Lopez's Venezuelan team by a final score of 7-5, clinching the top seed in Pool D. In the top of the first inning, the DR would waste no time getting on the board, as New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto took Eduardo Rodriguez deep for a two-run homer that left the bat at 105.5 mph and went 409 feet to straightaway center field. That gave the Dominican Republic an early 2-0 lead. The ensuing inning saw a Diamondback on Diamondback action, with second baseman Ketel Marte taking Rodriguez deep for a solo homer, making it a 3-1 game. The ball left the bat at 107.4 mph and went 403 feet to left field. After Rodriguez struck out Soto, manager Omar Lopez made a pitching change, going with Eduard Bazardo, who surrendered a 375-foot homer to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., extending the Dominican Republic's lead, 4-1. Fernando Tatis Jr. would hit the DR's fourth homer of the game off of Antonio Senzatela to extend the lead, 7-3. This marked Tatis' second home run of the tournament. In total, the Dominican Republic has hit a total of 13 home runs and scored 41 runs through four games of play. As a team, they are slashing .313/.466/.723/1.189. There have now been six games in this year’s World Baseball Classic where a team has hit four or more home runs, setting a new tournament record (previously four in 2009), with the Dominican Republic national baseball team becoming the first team to accomplish the feat twice in a single WBC. The Dominican Republic became the first team in World Baseball Classic history to record two games with four or more home runs in the same tournament. The Venezuelan team did not go down without a fight. Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara took the mound in front of his hometown crowd, and in three innings of work, he allowed three runs off of five hits, two walks, and struck out three. In the bottom of the first inning, Wilson Contreras knocked in an RBI single, making it a 2-1 game. Alcantara ran into some trouble in the bottom of the third inning, surrendering a lead-off walk to Ronald Acuña Jr., and then he stole second. Maikel Garcia drove Acuña in on an RBI double, and then Alcantara's former teammate, Luis Arraez drove Garcia in on an RBI double, making it 4-3. The Marlins' starting pitcher finished his second WBC outing, going three innings, allowing three runs off five hits, two walks, and three strikeouts. Pujols expects Alcantara to make another appearance in the WBC, likely coming in the finals, assuming he goes through a normal progression. Venezuela made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth inning, as they loaded the bases. Luis Arraez drove in a run on a sac fly, making it 7-4, and another run scored after a throwing error from Elvis Alvarado. With two outs, Venezuela opted to keep Salvador Perez, and he went on to ground out to end the game. With the Dominican Republic's win, they move to 4-0 in the tournament and will now play Korea in the quarterfinal round on Friday at 6:30 pm. Venezuela will drop to 3-1 and will wait until Saturday for their next game against Shohei Ohtani and Japan at 9:00 pm. Yoshinobu Yammamoto will make the start. Cristopher Sanchez will start for the DR against Korea, while Ranger Suarez will take the mound for Venezuela against Japan. View full article

Image courtesy of © Jim Rassol-Imagn Images Game two of the 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool D play was an unexpected offensive shootout, which went in favor of the Dominican Republic, by a final score of 12-3, thanks to home runs from Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero and Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez. Caminero, who is participating in his first World Baseball Classic, was in manager Albert Pujols' lineup, hitting sixth as the designated hitter. The 22-year old grounded out in his first at-bat of the game and then smacked a base hit. In the bottom of the sixth inning, with the game tied at three apiece, Caminero took pitcher Stiven Cruz deep to straightaway center, giving the Dominican Republic a 5-3 lead. The Santo Domingo native is no stranger to playing in front of a crowd like the one he did on Friday in loanDepot park. He played in the Dominican Winter League for Escogido, where his home runs have gone viral. "I think the best thing about Junior Caminero is that he's not afraid of these moments," said Dominican Republic manager Albert Pujols following the game. "He loves the spotlight. He listens, he's willing to open up and get better and I think that when he figures it out, and gets better, heads up, because there's a lot of little things, especially in his swing that he can get better at. At 22, I think right now you don't touch it because he's doing what he's doing, putting up big numbers. Having the opportunity for me and the Dominican Republic, to be his manager is a privillage, and seeing the things that he was able to do there, I had no doubt in my mind that I had to put him on this roster knowing that he loves this spot and he was going to come huge for us. This is just a glimpse of the things that he is hopefully going to do in this tournament." In the bottom of the seventh inning, the DR added one more run on a bases-loaded sac fly, driving in Tatis and extending the Dominican Republic's lead, 6-3. Julio Rodriguez, who was hitting seventh in the lineup and playing center field, took Nicaragua pitcher Osman Gutierrez 393 feet to left field, extending the Dominican Republic's lead, 7-3. The ball left the bat at 105.6 mph. For Rodriguez, loanDepot park is the site where he hit his first career homer, most notably, off Dominican Republic teammate Sandy Alcantara. The third and final home run hit by the Dominican Republic was by Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder ONeil Cruz, who entered in a pinch-hit situation. On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Cruz took Gutierrez 450 feet to the second deck in right field. The ball left the bat at 116.8 mph, and it marked the longest and hardest-hit home run in the last 2 WBCs (tracking history). "I haven't seen a lineup like this in a long time. The Yankees in my era had lineups like this," said Nicaragua's manager Dusty Baker following the game. Although Nicaragua, managed by Baker, is considered the worst team in a pool filled with titans, they shouldn't be taken lightly. In the top of the first inning, they wasted no time getting on the board thanks to an RBI single from Ismael Munguia off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez. One thing that stood out about Nicaragua is the willingness to fight. In the ensuing inning, University of Miami product Freddy Zamora hit an RBI double that drove in Cristhian Sandoval, tying the game at two. Lead-off hitter Chase Dawson drove Zamora in on an RBI single, taking a 3-2 lead. After surrendering another base hit, that would mark the end of the road for Sánchez, who finished his outing going 1.1 innings pitched, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits, one walk, and four strikeouts. Additionally, Sánchez recorded the first four-strikeout inning in World Baseball Classic history (since 2006). Although the final score of the game is what many will look at, Nicaragua really kept it close with the Dominican Republic, and at one point led. "It was a good game for five innings, but the big bats that they have over there woke up, and the backend of our bullpen wasn't quite as strong as theirs," Baker said. "Everyone that they had coming out was throwing between 96-97 mph." With the win, the Dominican Republic moves to 1-0 in the tournament and will have the day off on Saturday before playing host to the Netherlands on Sunday at noon. As for Nicaragua, they drop to 0-1 and will face the Netherlands on Saturday at noon. Kevin Barral is on-site in Miami covering the World Baseball Classic for DiamondCentric. View full article