Top seed in Pool D up for grabs as DR squares off with Venezuela (Wed., 8 p.m. ET, FS1)

MIAMI -- Pool D of the World Baseball Classic saved the best for last: Venezuela vs. the Dominican Republic to decide first place.

Both teams are undefeated entering their final game at loanDepot park on Wednesday night. Both teams are star-studded. And both teams have already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals in Miami.

This game will be one of the most exciting games of pool play at the 2026 Classic.

First, there's the seeding at stake. Whichever team wins here, and wins Pool D, avoids a matchup with reigning World Baseball Classic champion Japan in the quarterfinals.

Then there's what happened at the last World Baseball Classic. Venezuela beat the Dominican Republic in pool play, playing a big part in the D.R.'s early exit from the tournament.

"I don't see it as revenge," said Sandy Alcantara, who's starting for the Dominican Republic on Wednesday. "This is a very short tournament. We lost the previous Classic. We did our best, but we couldn't be successful. On Wednesday, we will be able to go out to the field and fight from the very first pitch, and may the best team win."

Lastly, there's the players you'll get to watch on both sides: Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Julio Rodríguez, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and more on the Dominican Republic … Ronald Acuña Jr., Salvador Perez, Jackson Chourio, Luis Arraez and more on Venezuela.

Here’s what you need to know about the matchup:

When and where: Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET, loanDepot park

How you can watch: The Venezuela-D.R. game will air on FS1.

How you can listen: There is a free English-language audio stream available for every game.

Team results: Venezuela and the Dominican Republic are both 3-0 entering their head-to-head matchup. Venezuela won 6-2 against the Netherlands, 11-3 against Israel and 4-0 against Nicaragua. Arraez (6-for-11, two home runs) and Acuña (4-for-10, one home run) have been the standouts.

The D.R. has scored double-digit runs in every game, winning 12-3 against Nicaragua, 12-1 against the Netherlands and 10-1 against Israel. They've mashed nine home runs, most of any team in the tournament, with two from Junior Caminero and Oneil Cruz and one apiece from Vlad Jr., J-Rod, Soto, Tatis and Austin Wells.

Probable starting pitchers: RHP Sandy Alcantara (Dominican Republic) vs. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (Venezuela)

What’s at stake: The winner of this game wins Pool D. Both teams will advance to the quarterfinals in Miami, but the result here will determine their next opponent.

The Pool D winner will face Korea, the runner-up from Pool C, on Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Pool D runner-up will face Japan, the Pool C winner and defending WBC champion from 2023, on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET.

In other words, for the Dominican Republic and Venezuela: Win this game and you get Korea, lose and you get Japan.

Matchup history: After Wednesday, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela will have played each other in five of the six WBCs.

Most recently, Venezuela took down the D.R., 5-1, in the opening game of WBC pool play in 2023, behind big games from Anthony Santander and David Peralta.

But before that, the Dominican Republic had won all four meetings against Venezuela. The D.R. won 3-0 over Venezuela in the second round in 2017, and 9-3 in pool play in 2013, both times led by Nelson Cruz and Robinson Canó.

The teams played twice in the 2006 Classic. In pool play, the D.R. won, 11-5, behind multi-homer games by both David Ortiz and Adrián Beltré. In the second round, they won again, 2-1.