In the 2026 World Baseball Classic final, Venezuela’s Eduardo Rodriguez and the United States’ Nolan McLean faced off in what ended up being a great pitchers' duel that ultimately ended in Venezuela’s first WBC title.
On Thursday, Rodriguez and McLean will rematch for the first time, but in different uniforms than their last outing against one another. In the series finale at Citi Field (7:10 p.m. ET/4:10 p.m. MST), the D-backs’ Rodriguez and the Mets’ McLean will toe the rubber against each other. While the stakes are not nearly as high as the WBC final in Miami last month, the winner of Thursday’s game will win the series.
In Venezuela’s run to the WBC title, the club relied on contributions from all over the roster, including Rodriguez, who tossed 4 1/3 shutout innings against the U.S. and set the tone in a game Venezuela won, 3-2. After struggling in his first two seasons with the D-backs, Rodriguez has seemingly carried that WBC momentum into the 2026 regular season, with impressive outings against the Dodgers and Braves to begin his campaign with a 0.00 ERA after two starts.
McLean, meanwhile, allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings with four strikeouts for the U.S. in the WBC final. The right-hander had an excellent debut for the Mets last season, posting a 2.06 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 48 innings. McLean is off to another strong start in 2026, as he’s posted a 2.61 ERA with 12 strikeouts in his first two outings.