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.
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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 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.
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.
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 -- and the D.R. and Venezuela 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 now-D.R. manager Albert 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.
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.
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).
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.