We are family here. That's why we play with passion, with love - because we feel that jersey, we feel our country in front of us. That's why this is a lot for us as players, as people, as human beings and as Venezuelans. Now we are the champions. Nobody believed in Venezuela, but now we've won the championship.
Canada made it out of pool play for the first time, while Cuba failed to move to the knockout round for the first time in WBC history. Cal Quantrill and Livan Moinelo each managed well, with just a sac fly giving Canada a 1-0 lead through four. An Abraham Toro homer off Yariel Rodriguez made it 2-0, but Cuba got a run back thanks to a leadoff walk and throwing error from Quantrill to set up an RBI groundout.
The first two games of the tournament saw South Korea topple Czechia by an 11-4 margin and Australia blank Chinese Taipei in a 3-0 victory. Highlights from those games include Guardians top prospect and 2024 No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana clobbering a deep home run to right field as part of a multi-hit day for Team Australia and Astros utilityman Shay Whitcomb belting a pair of homers for Team Korea.
