One big inning, a great escape and an epic performance from its bullpen was enough for Venezuela to register a crucial victory in its World Baseball Classic opener.
A star-studded lineup did just enough to stay a step ahead of a competitive Netherlands squad, and Venezuela registered a 6-2 victory in the first Pool D game Friday, March 6 at Miami’s loanDepot Park.
The win gives Venezuela a key advantage in a group where a loaded Dominican Republic casts a long shadow. With Israel and Nicaragua considered longshots to advance, the Venezuela-Netherlands victor would gain a significant advantage to claim one of two tickets to the quarterfinals.
And with starter Ranger Suárez only completing two innings, the Venezuelan bullpen – which gave up no earned runs in seven relief innings – saved the day.
Daniel Palencia, the Chicago Cubs closer, capped the effort by striking out two in the top of the ninth inning.
And an opportunistic Venezuela lineup pounced after Netherlands gave it an extra out in the fifth inning as Atlanta Braves star Ozzie Albies failed to cover first base on a bunt attempt. That loaded the bases with no outs, enabling Willson Contreras to deliver a two-run single and Wilyer Abreu an RBI single. Combined with a bases-loaded walk, a 2-1 Venezuela edge became 6-1.
Jose Buttó kept the lead intact, inheriting two runners and escaping his own bases-loaded, no-out situation in the top of the sixth with just one run given up.
Thanks to Ronald Acuña Jr.’s leadoff double in the first and Javier Sanoja’s second-inning homer, Venezuela never trailed. Now, it preps for a matchup against Israel the evening of Saturday, March 7. Netherlands must come back for a noon matchup against Nicaragua – suddenly a must-win.
USA TODAY Sports had full coverage of the game between Venezuela and the Netherlands. Scroll below for highlights:
Daniel Palencia shuts it down in ninth
Cubs closer Daniel Palencia had little trouble nailing down Venezuela’s victory with a powerful ninth. He needed just eight pitches to punch out Druw Jones and pinch hitter Jakey Josepha and got a pair of swinging strikes on Red Sox star Ceddane Rafaela.
Netherlands’ fate wasn’t quite sealed as Rafaela was brushed by a four-seam fastball to extend the game. But Xander Bogaerts lined out to shortstop Ezequiel Tovar to end it, a strong statement from Venezuela’s ninth-inning guy.
The final total for the Venezuela bullpen: Seven innings, no earned runs, one hit, seven strikeouts and three walks.
Druw Jones strikes again, but Venezuela still leads 6-2
Just like its opponent a half-inning before, Netherlands enjoyed a bases-loaded, no-out situation thanks to a gaffe from the opposition. But unlike Venezuela, which broke the game open with a four-run inning, Netherlands could only claw back one run in the top of the sixth inning.
Druw Jones – son of Netherlands manager Andruw Jones – hit a deep fly to the warning track in right field for a sacrifice fly to make it a 6-2 game, but Venezuela escaped any further damage and took a comfortable lead into the late innings. Jones had tied the game earlier with an RBI double.
Venezuela put itself in danger when Luinder Avila – beginning his third inning of relief work – hit a batter and walked another, and catcher William Contreras was called for catcher’s interference, loading the bases. Jones, the No. 9 hitter, nearly made the game much more interesting, but his drive off Jose Buttó died in Ronald Acuña Jr.’s glove near the wall.
Acuña also made an excellent running catch on Chadwick Tromp’s soft fly ball with the bases loaded, preventing the runners from advancing. And the Venezuelans moved onto the seventh with their 6-2 advantage.
Ozzie Albies’ gaffe helps Venezuela take 6-1 lead
Make no mistake: Netherlands reliever Jaydenn Estanista hitting Venezuela’s No. 9 hitter with a pitch and walking leadoff man Ronald Acuña Jr. set the stage for disaster in the bottom of the fifth inning. But Ozzie Albies’ mental error – or simply a miscommunication – poured accelerant on the rally.
Albies failed to cover first base on a Maikel Garcia bunt attempt – though first baseman Sharlon Schoop perhaps should have stayed home – and that gave a dangerous Venezuela lineup an extra out, and a bases-loaded situation in a one-run game. Estanista’s walk to Luis Arráez drove home an insurance run, and then Willson Contreras greeted Eric Mendez with a two-run single for a 5-1 lead.
Wilyer Abreu tacked on another run-scoring hit for a 6-1 lead. And a competitive Netherlands squad that was never more than a run behind suddenly faces a huge climb in the final four innings.
Bullpen battle as Venezuela clings to narrow lead
If Venezuela is to stave off a Netherlands upset, its bullpen must be on point. Starter Ranger Suárez gave them two innings of one-run ball and Eduard Bazardo and Luinder Avila put up zeroes in the third and fourth to maintain a 2-1 lead entering the fifth.
Antwone Kelly, Netherlands’ less heralded starter, actually outlasted Suárez – who signed a $130 million contract with Boston this winter – by completing three innings. Ryjteri Merite, a lefty deep in the Cincinnati Reds system, followed with a scoreless fourth, getting a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play ball from Javier Sanoja to overcome Didi Gregorius’s error.
Javier Sanoja puts Venezuela up 2-1 with solo home run
A power-packed Venezuelan lineup got its first home run from a most unlikely source.
Javier Sanoja, the Miami Marlins utilityman who hit just six homers last season, clubbed an Antwone Kelly first-pitch fastball for a solo homer to left in his home ballpark, giving Venezuela a 2-1 lead through two innings.
Sanoja, who had a .683 OPS for Miami in 118 games, turned and gestured immediately toward his dugout, the light-hitting third baseman knowing he got all of it. Kelly rallied to strand a pair of runners and keep it a one-run game.
Druw Jones – manager’s son – ties it for Netherlands with double
Druw Jones is absolutely beating any charges that he’s a nepotism pick on Netherlands’ WBC team. The No. 9 hitter – and son of Hall of Famer and Netherlands manager Andruw Jones – stroked a two-out, game-tying double off Ranger Suárez, hustling to second to the quiet delight of his dad in the dugout.
Jones, a top prospect for the Arizona Diamondbacks, was stranded at second as Suárez induced a groundout to end the inning in a 1-1 tie. But Suárez needed 29 pitches to escape the second, giving him 43 pitches as he drifts toward the 65-pitch limit for this pool-play round.
Acuña Jr., Arráez give Venezuela 1-0 first-inning lead
A stacked Venezuelan lineup looks as daunting in reality as it does on paper. Ronald Acuña Jr. doubled on the first pitch of the bottom of the first and Luis Arráez drove him home with a single through a drawn-in infield as Venezuela took 1-0 first-inning lead.
The partisan Venezuela crowd at Miami’s loanDepot Park didn’t need long to voice their enthusiasm, as Acuña drove Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Antwone Kelly’s first pitch into the gap in left center field. Maikel Garcia’s grounder to second moved Acuña to third and then Arráez, the three-time batting champ, rolled a grounder under shortstop Xander Bogaerts’ glove.
Venezuela starter Ranger Suárez needed just 14 pitches in the top of the first, yielding an infield single to leadoff man Ray-Patrick Didder, but retiring Boston Red Sox teammate Ceddane Rafaela on a fly to center.
Netherlands lineup today vs. Venezuela
Ray-Patrick Didder – LF
Ceddane Rafaela – CF
Xander Bogaerts – SS
Ozzie Albies – 2B
Didi Gregorious – 3B
Hendrik Clementina – DH
Sharlon Schoop – 1B
Chadwick Tromp – C
Druw Jones – RF
Venezuela lineup today vs Netherlands
Ranger Suárez – LHP
Ronald Acuña Jr – RF
Maikel García – 3B
Luis Arráez – 2B
Willson Contreras – 1B
Salvador Pérez – DH
Wilyer Abreu LF
William Contreras – C
Javier Sanoja – CF
Andrés Giménez – SS
How to watch Netherlands vs Venezuela on Tubi
Matchup: Netherlands vs. Venezuela
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: Miami (LoanDepot Park)
TV: Tubi
Streaming: FOX One App
Stream the World Baseball Classic on Fubo
Netherlands WBC roster
Pitchers: Kenley Jansen, Antwone Kelly, Lars Huijer, Jaydenn Estanista, Jaitoine Kelly, Kevin Kelly, Shairon Martis, JC Sulbaran, Jamdrick Cornelia, Wendell Floranus, Arij Fransen, Eric Mendez, Ryjeteri Merite, Justin Morales, Shawndrick Oduber, Derek West, Dylan Wilson
Catchers: Chadwick Tromp, Hendrik Clementina
Infielders: Ozzie Albies, Xander Bogaerts, Didi Gregorius, Juremi Profar, Sharlon Schoop
Outfielders: Ceddanne Rafaela, Druw Jones, Jakey Josepha, Ray-Patrick Didder, Dayson Croes, Delano Selassa
Venezuela WBC roster
Pitchers: Ranger Suárez, Eduardo Rodriguez, Antonio Senzatela, Jhonathan Díaz, Eduard Bazardo, José Buttó, Enmanuel De Jesus, Carlos Guzman, Yoendrys Gómez, Andrés Machado, Keider Montero, Daniel Palencia, Ricardo Sánchez, Angel Zerpa, Christian Suárez, Luinder Ávila, Anthony Molina
Catchers: Salvador Perez, William Contreras
Infielders: Luis Arraez, Willson Contreras, Maikel Garcia, Andrés Giménez, Eugenio Suárez, Gleyber Torres, Ezequiel Tovar
Outfielders: Ronald Acuña Jr., Jackson Chourio, Wilyer Abreu, Javier Sanoja
Andruw Jones on Curacao connection
‘You see how baseball in Curaçao has grown. I’m so proud that I could lead some of these guys to believe in themselves, to go out there and chase their dream. Now that they’re all here and helping us try to win this tournament, it’s awesome,’ Netherlands manager Andruw Jones told reporters before the game.
‘I tell them all the time, take advantage of the opportunity they’re going to give you, and I can see a lot of them are doing it, so I’m very proud of that.’
Jackson Chourio injury update
Venezuela’s Jackson Chourio is out of the starting lineup on Friday against the Netherlands after being hit with a pitch on Wednesday. Manager Omar Lopez said Chourio does not have a fracture and will be available to run and play defense if necessary.
2026 World Baseball Classic schedule
Pool play: March 5-March 11
Quarterfinals: March 13 & 14 (Houston and Miami)
Semifinals: March 15 & 16 (Miami)
Championship game: March 17 (Miami)