D.R. holds off Venezuela rally in 9th to claim top seed in Pool D

MIAMI -- It's a miracle the roof stayed on loanDepot park.

The juggernaut Dominican Republic lineup put on an epic fireworks display to beat Venezuela and take first place in Pool D at the World Baseball Classic.

The D.R. mashed four home runs -- one each by Juan Soto, Ketel Marte, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr. -- to take down Venezuela, 7-5, in a game that was basically a nine-inning earthquake in Miami.

"Regarding the fans: Wow," Tatis said. "That was such an energy. The stadium was shaking."

With loanDepot park packed to the gills with 36,230 fans -- thousands upon thousands from both countries -- the heavyweight Dominican and Venezuelan teams went blow for blow in the WBC pool play finale.

In the end, the D.R. home run barrage, which came with the bat flips and home run celebrations to match the big stage, overwhelmed Venezuela. The Dominican Republic now has 13 home runs at the end of pool play, the most of any team in the 2026 Classic and the most by any WBC team ever through its first four games.

"When you have lineups such as the one we have, it's going to be a problem for our rivals," Dominican Republic manager Albert Pujols said. "This is what happened today. This is what they have been doing throughout the tournament."

Venezuela mounted a spirited rally in the ninth inning, scoring twice and getting the winning run to the plate in team captain Salvador Perez. But Elvis Alvarado got Salvy to ground into a game-ending double play -- fielded, of course, by the Gold Glover Manny Machado at third base, whose defense this tournament has been superb as always.

"The Dominican offense is big," Venezuela manager Omar López said. "You cannot make mistakes."

Both Venezuela and the Dominican Republic had already clinched their spots in the WBC quarterfinals in Miami, but first place in Pool D was on the line Wednesday. The D.R. will now move on to face Korea, the runner-up of Pool C, in the quarterfinals on Friday (6:30 p.m. ET, FS2). Venezuela will have to face Pool C winner and reigning World Baseball Classic champion Japan in its quarterfinal matchup on Saturday (9 p.m., FOX).

"You have to beat the best teams if you want to be the champion," López said.

Whatever the stakes, when the Dominican Republic and Venezuela play on this stage, the atmosphere will always be incredible. They have as long and rich of a World Baseball Classic rivalry as any two countries.

The two teams have met in five of the six World Baseball Classics, going back to the inaugural 2006 tournament -- when Pujols, plus Venezuela hitting coach Miguel Cabrera, pitching coach Johan Santana and assistant manager Victor Martinez were all playing for their teams as superstars in their primes.

"It was fun, man," Pujols reflected before the game. "It was the first World Baseball Classic and I think everybody had the same high, probably, that we all have about this game tonight. That's the same high that you had back then in 2006."

The Dominican Republic has now won five of the six meetings between the two teams at the WBC. Venezuela's only win came in the last Classic in 2023.

Miggy laughed thinking back about that now.

"I remember we lost," Cabrera said. "But playing against Albert -- he was very special for me my whole career. We have a good relationship, I love Albert. So it's good to see him as a manager, and me as a hitting coach and Johan as a pitching coach."

Twenty years later, both of these teams are loaded with stars once again. The Dominican Republic lineup got the upper hand on Wednesday, but they had to outhit a Venezuela lineup that featured an MVP in Ronald Acuña Jr., a three-time batting champion in Luis Arraez, a rising superstar in Jackson Chourio, a nine-time All-Star in Salvy and more. And there is a lot of mutual respect between the D.R. and Venezuela.

"As Latino players, of course there is some rivalry in these games," Soto said, "but we are family, and everything that happens on the field stays there. Off the field, we are like brothers."

Besides just the team skipper Pujols and general manager Nelson Cruz, a whole host of Dominican baseball legends were in the house Wednesday, including Hall of Famers David Ortiz and Adrián Beltré and former MLB stars like José Bautista, Edwin Encarnación, José Reyes and more.

Those superstars of the past got to see the Dominican Republic's next wave of superstars put on a show.

In fact, Soto is now tied for the most World Baseball Classic home runs by a D.R. player -- with Cruz and Beltré, who were there to see him blast the fourth homer of his WBC career.

"We enjoy watching and playing baseball with each other," Tatis said. "And now, being able to be on the same team, and with the quality of the team that we have, we're definitely enjoying our moment -- and we're planning on doing something special."