The U.S-Venezuela game<\/a> will be played Tuesday night on American soil, but in front of what could be a partisan Venezuelan crowd at loanDepot Park in Miami.<\/p>\nEveryone projected a big-time matchup, and they got it; just not the one that was expected.<\/p>\n
Lineups<\/p>\n
After shuffling things around against the Dominican Republic, manager Mark DeRosa will almost certainly ride the same lineup that put the U.S. in the championship game. Against the Dominicans, Gunnar Henderson got the start at third base, due in large part to his 7-for-9 career line against Luis Severino. That familiarity paid off, as Henderson swatted a solo home run against Severino, one of only two runs scored by the U.S. He also made a few crafty plays at the hot corner, making it a no-brainer that he gets the start again Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Will Smith\u2019s ability to navigate Team USA\u2019s relievers through some tightrope acts, plus his remarkably better line so far this WBC, gives him the start again behind the plate. Otherwise, it\u2019s business as usual for Team USA.<\/p>\n
Fun fact: Only two players in the Venezuela lineup have faced Nolan McLean during the New York Mets prospect\u2019s brief MLB career. But the two that have, both have home runs. Ronald Acu\u00f1a is 1-for-2 vs. with a homer, and Eugenio Su\u00e1rez hit a homer off him in McLean\u2019s big-league debut.<\/p>\n
Then, there\u2019s Luis Arr\u00e1ez, another Venezuelan player whose power has added an offensive element to their team. He has two in this WBC and had two more in 2023, despite posting just 36 long balls total over his seven-year career.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maikel Garcia had a 5.8 WAR in 2025 and is one of the game\u2019s best players, yet he doesn\u2019t get talked about enough. The Venezuelan lineup isn\u2019t as deep or as powerful as that of Team USA, but there aren\u2019t any major holes in it, either. <\/p>\n
Head-to-head edge<\/p>\n
PlayerPOSPlayerPOS<\/p>\n
Aaron Judge<\/p>\n
RF<\/p>\n
Ronald Acuna Jr.<\/p>\n
RF<\/p>\n
Pete Crow-Armstrong<\/p>\n
CF<\/p>\n
Jackson Chourio<\/p>\n
CF<\/p>\n
Roman Anthony<\/p>\n
LF<\/p>\n
Wilyer Abreu<\/p>\n
LF<\/p>\n
Gunnar Henderson<\/p>\n
3B<\/p>\n
Maikel Garcia<\/p>\n
3B<\/p>\n
Bobby Witt Jr.<\/p>\n
SS<\/p>\n
Ezequiel Tovar<\/p>\n
SS<\/p>\n
Brice Turang<\/p>\n
2B<\/p>\n
Gleyber Torres<\/p>\n
2B<\/p>\n
Bryce Harper<\/p>\n
1B<\/p>\n
Luis Arr\u00e1ez<\/p>\n
1B<\/p>\n
Kyle Schwarber<\/p>\n
DH<\/p>\n
Eugenio Su\u00e1rez<\/p>\n
DH<\/p>\n
Will Smith<\/p>\n
C<\/p>\n
Salvador Perez<\/p>\n
C<\/p>\n
Venezuela has an established big-league hitter at every position in its lineup, including some very high-profile stars. But Team USA\u2019s lineup is still superior at nearly every position. Just because most of the American stars are highlighted in this graphic, however, doesn\u2019t mean this is a lopsided matchup. Most of these were razor-thin choices that won\u2019t necessarily make a difference in a one-game, winner-take-all scenario. Some of the top American stars, such as Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper, have been maligned for their inability to win the big game. Tuesday is an opportunity for them to shift that narrative.<\/p>\n
Starting pitching<\/p>\n
TeamPlayerThrows<\/p>\n
United States<\/p>\n
Nolan McLean<\/p>\n
Right<\/p>\n
Venezuela<\/p>\n
Eduardo Rodriguez<\/p>\n
Left<\/p>\n
Despite his availability, Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan will not get the start in the finale. In fact, he won\u2019t pitch at all. That job belongs to McLean, who was tagged for three runs in three innings in his lone WBC start. MLB\u2019s No. 8-ranked prospect, per The Athletic\u2019s Keith Law, has electric stuff, but he might not be in for long in the finale, particularly if any signs of trouble bubble over.<\/p>\n
Eduardo Rodriguez hasn\u2019t been a very good big-league pitcher since 2023, and had ERAs north of 5.00 over his last two years with the Arizona Diamondbacks. His expected stats based on quality of contact allowed have, at times, made him one of the least effective pitchers in MLB, all while batting a declining strikeout rate. In one game, anything can happen. But it\u2019s a tough matchup against this particular U.S. lineup, and the Venezuelans should be prepared to go to their strong bullpen early, if needed. <\/p>\n
Edge: USA<\/p>\n
Neither of these starters was any good in their first outings of the WBC. McLean may well be the better pitcher who will have the better season. But after allowing three earned runs in three innings, including two homers given up, it\u2019s hard to say he has the edge. Then again, Rodriguez allowed three earned runs over 2 2\/3 innings. Rodriguez has more experience. McLean might be the better pitcher right now. It\u2019s close, but Rodriguez\u2019s overall downward trajectory, combined with his poor opening outing, gives McLean the slight edge.<\/p>\n
Bullpens<\/p>\n
Team USA available bullpen arms <\/p>\n
Player Throws<\/p>\n
Tim Hill<\/p>\n
LHP<\/p>\n
Tyler Rogers<\/p>\n
RHP<\/p>\n
Will Vest<\/p>\n
RHP<\/p>\n
Gabe Speier<\/p>\n
LHP<\/p>\n
Brad Keller<\/p>\n
RHP<\/p>\n
Garrett Cleavinger<\/p>\n
LHP<\/p>\n
Jeff Hoffman<\/p>\n
RHP<\/p>\n
So far, new bullpen additions Jeff Hoffman, Will Vest and Tim Hill have not made an appearance this WBC. That should change on Tuesday. Tyler Rogers, who pitched Sunday, only needed two pitches to collect two outs, so he should similarly be available. It\u2019s unlikely that DeRosa will call upon David Bednar once again, and it won\u2019t be known until first pitch whether Mason Miller will be available to close.<\/p>\n
Still, there are enough fresh arms that the U.S. should have enough to weather a potential bullpen game.<\/p>\n
Team Venezuela available arms<\/p>\n
The Venezuelan bullpen has been nails in this tournament. The only downside for them is how heavily their best arms were worked in their 4-2 semifinal win over Italy. In order to win Tuesday, some of their arms will have to pitch in back-to-back games \u2014 though that will probably be a question that loops in the players\u2019 big-league clubs. It will be interesting to see if Enmanuel De Jesus is available after pitching 2 1\/3 innings against Japan on Saturday. If Venezuela can\u2019t go to some of its key relief arms, it will spell trouble.<\/p>\n
EDGE: Venezuela\u00a0<\/p>\n
This will be all about availability. If Venezuela has its best arms available, it\u2019s going to have the edge. If the Venezuelans don\u2019t, Team USA and its recent additions will make it fresher and better. If Team USA does not have Bednar and Miller, then it will be vulnerable at the back end of the game, particularly if McLean does not make a deep start.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Prediction<\/p>\n
Venezuela 6, U.S. 3<\/p>\n
The overall offensive numbers on Team USA aren\u2019t awful. But a chunk of that is facing Brazil and Great Britain, whose arms aren\u2019t largely MLB quality. For the most part, this lineup, chock full of All-Stars and Hall of Famers, has struggled to put up crooked numbers. Venezuela\u2019s pitching is a little beat up after a tight win over Italy, and has one fewer day to rest. But the Venezuelans still have a great bullpen and a good-enough lineup. They\u2019ll have significant fan support in Miami and have already slayed the defending champions. The U.S. will be the favorite, but Venezuela will take home the hardware. \u2014 Blum<\/p>\n
Prediction U.S. 7, Venezuela 1<\/p>\n
Team USA tees off against a tired Venezuelan bullpen. No need for Miller to pitch for the third time in five days. The power bats that were muted against the Dominican Republic put on a show in the WBC finale. Roman Anthony wins the WBC MVP award. \u2014 Flores<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before this World Baseball Classic started, the favorites were obvious. There was defending champion Samurai Japan. There was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":528075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,363,3,21,19,22,20,25,24,72364],"class_list":["post-528074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-mlb","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-world-baseball-classic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/528075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}