This clutch steal led to Venezuela's Classic-winning run

Eugenio Suárez’s outstretched arms pointing emphatically toward the sky while standing on second base will be a lasting image in World Baseball Classic history.

It was Suárez’s tiebreaking RBI double in the top of the ninth inning that helped deliver Venezuela an emotional 3-2 win over Team USA for its first WBC championship. But Marlins utility man Javier Sanoja's contribution shouldn't get lost in the shuffle of celebration.

Sanoja, pinch-running for Luis Arraez after a leadoff walk and playing at his home stadium of loanDepot park in Miami, took off from first base on a 1-1 count and narrowly beat the throw from American catcher Will Smith.

In fact, Smith’s throw may have actually beaten Sanoja to the base. But it took a high hop on second baseman Brice Turang, allowing Sanoja to sneak his right foot onto the back corner of the bag. Team USA challenged the call, which was upheld after video review.

Four pitches later, Sanoja came around to score the game’s deciding run when Suárez laced a Garrett Whitlock changeup at 100.1 mph toward left-center field for a double.

“He’s amazing,” Arraez said afterward, according to the Miami Herald. “Sanoja ... enjoys the game. This game’s hard, but he makes it easy.”

Manager Omar López rolled the dice in a big way. Sanoja’s mad dash for second was the only stolen base attempt in the ninth inning or later among six World Baseball Classic finals.

Sanoja’s successful swipe as a pinch-runner inserted into the middle of a massive moment brought shades of Dave Roberts’ famous 2004 ALCS steal that helped spark the Red Sox’s historic comeback vs. the Yankees.

Sanoja went just 6-for-11 on stolen base attempts in his rookie season with the Marlins in 2025. But Venezuela played like there was no tomorrow, and it paid off. And perhaps Sanoja -- with a 67th percentile sprint speed in 2025 -- would not have been able to score from first base on the Suárez double.

This also came shortly after Team USA swung the momentum heavily in its favor in the bottom of the eighth inning, with Bryce Harper launching a two-out, two-run homer deep into center field.

“The important thing was that we got back in the dugout, got together and lifted each other up again to keep going to do what we did,” Sanoja told the Herald.

Sanoja appeared in just three games during the 2026 World Baseball Classic. He made those appearances count, though, with three hits -- including a home run -- and the all-important stolen base that led to Tuesday’s game-winning score.

He threw his hands out wide as he crossed home plate and jumped into a pile of teammates just beyond the dugout. A raucous crowd filled with Venezuelan fans exploded.

“My moment came,” Sanoja told the Herald.