USA vs. Venezuela live score, updates, highlights from 2023 World Baseball Classic quarterfinals

By | March 18, 2023
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The Venezuela vs. USA quarterfinal matchup is a bit inverted from the game many expected heading into the World Baseball Classic.

In one corner is Team USA, battered and bruised after finishing second in a grueling Pool C that it was heavily favored to win. It took until the last game against Colombia before the Americans to advance out of pool play. Mexico finished first following a dominant win over the United States.

MORE: How much do the World Baseball Classic winners make in 2023?

In the other corner is Venezuela, which played in a pool that was thought to be the Dominican Republic vs. the field. Venezuela was dominant in going 4-0. Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander having the week of his life to help the team advance along with Puerto Rico.

Mookie Betts and Mike Trout finally lived up to their lofty expectations against Colombia, with Trout driving in all three USA runs in the 3-2 win. They’ll be looking to stay hot against a team that has been among the best in the tournament.

MORE: Who has the most WBC championships in history?

The United States is the favorite in the game with a 1.5-run spread, per BetMGM. White Sox right-hander Lance Lynn will take the bump for the Americans. Rangers left-hander Martín Peréz gets the start for Venezuela. The winner of this game will go on to play Cuba in the semifinals, which will also be in Miami.

The Sporting News is providing live score updates and highlights of USA vs. Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals. Follow along below.

MORE: Watch World Baseball Classic games live with fuboTV (free trial)

USA vs. Venezuela score

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 F
USA 3 0 – – – – – – – –
Venezuela 2 – – – – – – – – –

USA vs. Venezuela live updates, highlights from World Baseball Classic

(All times Eastern)

7:51 p.m. — Suárez continues to rake for Venezuela, as he puts one off the base of the ball the other way. Lynn’s cutter has been elevated tonight. Mookie Betts made a pretty incredible throw off the hop, but Suárez was in with a standup double. López is out talking to the umpires for some reason.

7:50 p.m. — David Peralta led off for Venezuela and grounded into the shift for the first out of the inning. That’ll bring up Eugenio Suárez, who has been excellent this WBC so far.

Bottom of 2nd inning: USA 3, Venezuela 2

7:46 p.m. — HUGE pitch from Ruiz. 2-2, he drops a curveball off the table to get Trout swinging and he is hyped. Venezuela gets out of the inning unscathed despite the leadoff double.

7:45 p.m. — Trout will come up with two out and a runner on third. He’s thrived on these situations the past few games.

7:43 p.m. — Turner draws a five-pitch walk, and it’s going to be Betts with the first two on. Betts comes up swinging straight into the 6-4-3 double play, advancing Realmuto to third. Altuve was hurt on the play, but he got back up quickly. Runner on third, two out.

7:41 p.m. — Realmuto found a pitch there off the end of the bat and drops it in for a leadoff double. As John Smoltz pointed out, Team USA isn’t hitting the ball hard. They’re just following the age-old adage of “hit it where they ain’t.”

7:39 p.m. — J.T. Realmuto and Trea Turner will start things off for the United States before turning the order to Betts. Venezuela catcher Salvador Pérez is being looked at after taking a foul ball to the mask. Pérez is heading back behind that plate after Omar López took a look at him as well.

Top of 2nd inning: USA 3, Venezuela 2

7:35 p.m. — Good swing there from Acuña but it ended up right at Trout for the third out of the inning. All the same, a one-run deficit looks a lot more manageable than three runs, especially with that early start.

7:34 p.m. — Salvador Pérez looked like he might take the next pitch yard, but it’s caught in deep left for the second out of the inning. Acuña is up next for Venezuela.

7:32 p.m. — Luis Arráez! He homered only eight times for the Twins last season as the AL batting king, but he puts a charge in that against his former AL Central opponent and drives in two. Then he hit Lynn with a too small celebration along the way. What an answer from the new Marlin and Venezuela to make this a ballgame.

7:31 p.m. — Santander popped one to third against the shift on an elevated cutter, and USA has its first out of the inning.

7:29 p.m. — Welcome to the WBC: Defense optional. Altuve is first-pitch swinging on Lance Lynn, and he drives it to left for a base hit for Venezuela. They’re looking for a rally of their own with their arguable MVP so far Anthony Santander up next.

Bottom of 1st inning: USA 3, Venezuela 0

7:26 p.m. — Good job by Ruiz to minimize the damage for Venezuela. He gets Schwarber late on a fastball and Schwarber flies out to left to get Venezuela out of the inning. That makes it 3-0 USA after half a frame.

7:24 p.m. — Ruiz gets Anderson swinging on a pitch that fell off the table, and that bring up Kyle Schwarber looking to drive in the runner at third with two out.

7:23 p.m. — Tim Anderson now digs against his White Sox teammate José Ruiz. Anderson is still forcing things at the plate, as he goes down 1-2 swinging at a breaking ball.

7:20 p.m. — That call gets overturned, and Tucker is out at first. That leaves Arenado at third with one out. Pérez is out after facing five batters, giving up five hits, and logging one out and three runs.

7:16 p.m. — The United States just needed to get out of pools, but this is why this team is so dangerous. Nolan Arenado goes the other way for a hit before Kyle Tucker drives Goldschmidt in with a single up the middle. Arenado forced the issue and got to third, and Tucker seemingly got into second but Altuve is adamant he tagged him out. Venezuela looks like they’re going to challenge the call. Five base hits to start the game for the United States. USA 3, Venezuela 0.

7:14 p.m. — Pérez is very good at getting ahead in the count, but he isn’t a big strikeout pitcher. Last year he had 7.7 Ks per nine, the same number as 2021. To that point, Goldschmidt goes down and takes a 2-2 changeup the other way to drive in Trout. USA 2, Venezuela 0.

7:12 p.m. — The short version of all of that: It’s USA 1, Venezuela nothing with a runner on third and nobody out for Goldschmidt.

7:10 p.m. — Betts starts things out right for the United States as he ekes one past Altuve for a leadoff single. Mike Trout comes up and is first pitch swinging! It blooped into center and Betts got an incredible read on it, forcing a throw to third from Acuña that went into the dugout. Betts scores as the ball goes out of play, and Trout capitalizes on the deep outfield with a single and an advance to third on a fielder’s choice and an error.

Top of 1st inning: USA 0, Venezuela 0

7:10 p.m. — It’s going to be Betts-Trout-Goldschmidt at the top of the order for the United States, keeping inline with the mode for Mark DeRosa’s lineup.

7:01 p.m. — As a reminder, the winner of this game will play Cuba Sunday night. Japan vs. Mexico is the other semifinal game Monday before the WBC championship Tuesday.

6:55 p.m. — For those joining after pools, the United States enter this game 3-1 with wins over Great Britain, Canada, and Colombia and a loss to Pool C No. 1 Mexico. Venezuela, meanwhile, is 4-0, having taken down the vaunted Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

6:40 p.m. — Welcome to USA vs. Venezuela. The United States will look to send Venezuela home with its first loss of the classic. Lance Lynn will be on the mount for Team USA against Venezuela’s Martín Pérez. Here’s a look at both lineups.

USA vs. Venezuela start time

  • Start time: 7 p.m. ET

The United States and Venezuela will begin at 7 p.m. ET. They’ll be playing at loanDepot Park in Miami, home of MLB’s Marlins.

How to watch USA vs. Venezuela in World Baseball Classic

  • TV channel: Fox
  • Live stream: FoxSports.com, fuboTV

The Fox family of networks is televising the World Baseball Classic, and USA vs. Venezuela will be on the main Fox network. 

The game can be streamed via FoxSports.com or fuboTV, which offers a free trial.

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