The Americans’ loss: they have only their offense to blame

The United States had a great team heading into the World Baseball Classic. No one would argue otherwise.

Their lineup was so strong that they had the luxury of leave Gunnar Henderson and Cal Raleigh on the bench for the final game against Venezuela.

And yesterday, it was a disaster.

Yes, Bryce Harper hit a two-run home run. But other than that, the guys didn't play well, as the American batters only got the ball in play three times during the final game. That made the difference in a 3-2 loss to Venezuela.

LOOK WHAT IT MEANS TO TEAM VENEZUELA! pic.twitter.com/Ex6MM3rwfU— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 18, 2026

The American pitchers were good, but their Venezuelan counterparts were better. And their hitters showed opportunism, getting runners on base.

In fact, aside from Bryce Harper, Brice Turang is the only player who recorded a hit for the Americans. Harper has two, FYI. #Elite

The U.S. captain, Aaron Judge, has failed to silence his critics. He struck out three times and was never able to get a hit in four at-bats.

The Venezuelan team, on the other hand, had six hits. That's not a huge number, but it's twice as many as their opponents… and it gave them something to celebrate, despite everything.

The party is on for Team Venezuela! #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/LeqLb8zhK7 — World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 18, 2026

In the end, it gave us some exciting, high-stakes baseball. The Venezuelans earned the right to celebrate in style, as they helped put on a show and make their country proud.

And now, back to spring training.

PMLB

Mason Miller was available only in relief situations.

Mark DeRosa on not using Mason Miller against Venezuela: “Honoring the Padres. Had we taken the lead, he was coming in, but I wasn't going to bring him in to a tie game.” (via @BNightengale) pic.twitter.com/mSs7huqDTx — Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 18, 2026

Maikel Garcia deserves the MVP title.

Maikel Garcia is your 2026 World Baseball Classic MVP! pic.twitter.com/17kusfRdby— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 18, 2026

Several guys didn't want their silver medals.

Kyle Schwarber took his silver medal off before he even made it to the dugout pic.twitter.com/avVq1u600k — Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) March 18, 2026

The guys from Venezuela are going to split $2.5 million.

Venezuela gets a $2.5 million bonus with the victory for their country and its players — Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 18, 2026

A legend.

5-time Gold Glove—5-time Silver Slugger—9-time All-Star 2015 World Series Champion 2015 World Series MVP 2020 Comeback Player of the Year 2022 Lou Gehrig Award 2024 Roberto Clemente Award 2024 Stan Musial Award 2026 World Baseball Classic Champion pic.twitter.com/Lu3RQPSZgm — Kansas City Royals (@Royals) March 18, 2026

Created by humans, assisted by AI.