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Several members of Team USA didn’t appear to want anything to do with a second-place finish in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
The United States squad was given silver medals after falling to Venezuela, 3-2, in the WBC final on Tuesday in Miami. However, shortly after receiving them from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, several players stripped them off.
Mason Miller could hardly wait to take his medal off, doing so before he even shared an embrace with manager Mark DeRosa. Kyle Schwarber waited a bit longer, taking it off just as he got to the steps of his dugout.
Logan Webb and Garrett Whitlock were also captured with their medals in their hands, rather than around their necks.
This was Miller’s WBC debut, while Schwarber was on the team that lost in the 2023 final to Japan, also in Miami.
Eduardo Rodriguez, the soon-to-be 33-year-old Venezuelan left-hander, had thrown to a 5.02 ERA over the past two seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but you wouldn’t think so , the way he was living on the corners and keeping Team USA off balance throughout his 4.1-inning start. Team USA’s offense continued to get blanked until the eighth inning, when Bryce Harper tied the game with a two-out, two-run homer.
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But Venezuela didn’t skip a beat in the top of the ninth inning, as Garrett Whitlock, who had been great in a high-leverage role earlier in the tournament, didn’t look like his usual self. He issued a walk to start the inning, and after Venezuela’s pinch-runner, Javier Sanoja, stole second base, Eugenio Suarez smashed a changeup to left-center field for a go-ahead double to retake the lead.
Daniel Palencia got the call in the bottom of the ninth for Venezuela after closing out Italy, and the Chicago Cubs agreed this would be the only moment he could throw again.
He made the best of the opportunity, striking out Kyle Schwarber, getting Gunnar Henderson to pop up to Maikel Garcia, and striking out Roman Anthony to seal an emotional victory for Venezuela.
Venezuela won its first World Baseball Classic title in the short history of the event, which began in 2006. For the U.S., it was its second consecutive loss in the title game after winning it all in 2017.
Fox News’ Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
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