WBC final tonight
The 2026 World Baseball Classic crowns a champion tonight — Team USA faces Venezuela at 8 p.m. ET on FOX after the U.S. beat the Dominican Republic and Venezuela rallied to beat Italy 4–2 in the semis. Managers are already parsing pitching plans — Team USA’s Mark DeRosa is expected to micromanage his staff in what pundits call a toss‑up matchup (mlb.com) (cbssports.com).
Team USA will hand the ball to Mets rookie Nolan McLean to start), while Venezuela is expected to counter with veteran left‑hander Eduardo Rodríguez on the bump). McLean is a New York Mets rookie with eight major‑league starts entering this week’s title game ESPN), and he allowed three earned runs in three innings during his earlier WBC start versus Italy in pool play Sporting News). Venezuela is led by manager Omar López with Johan Santana listed on the pitching staff and Miguel Cabrera among the hitting coaches on the 2026 staff World Baseball Network), and the 2026 matchup is the first time Venezuela has reached a WBC championship game in tournament history MLB.com). Team USA began the tournament with a rotation plan that included Logan Webb, Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes and Nolan McLean in that order MLB.com), and the Americans’ 30‑man roster lists high‑leverage arms such as Mason Miller and David Bednar available in relief if DeRosa turns to the bullpen MLB.com roster). Paul Skenes was credited with the win in the U.S. semifinal victory USA Baseball recap), and Trevor Rogers, Griffin Jax, David Bednar and Mason Miller combined in relief to protect that result according to the official box score ESPN box score). Venezuela’s 30‑man roster features stars Ronald Acuña Jr., Maikel García and Luis Arraez among its primary offensive threats MLB.com roster), and that lineup also knocked off defending champion Japan in the quarterfinals en route to this week’s title game MLB.com).
