USA vs Venezuela World Baseball Classic 2023: Preview, schedule, and how to watch quarter-final matchup
Two giants of baseball go head-to-head in the quarter-finals of the World Baseball Classic with a semi-final against Cuba on the line. Discover all you need to know about the meeting on Saturday, March 18, in Miami.
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The United States' "national pasttime" will come under the spotlight this Saturday (March 18) when Team USA plays in the World Baseball Classic 2023 quarter-finals.
A narrow 3–2 victory over Colombia wrapped up group play for the Americans and moved the U.S. club to a 3–1 record in Pool C, finishing second behind Mexico on head-to-head.
Team USA's opponent will be a fired-up Venezuelan team that came through its difficult first-round pool with an undefeated 4–0 record, scoring 23 runs and giving up just nine en route to the second round.
Both teams are packed with Major League Baseball (MLB) talent, led respectively by captains Mike Trout and Miguel Cabrera, both MLB icons. The one-off elimination game will be played at LoanDepot Park, with the winner heading to a semi-final against Cuba (also in Miami) while the loser's run ends.
As defending champions, Team USA entered this year's Classic with high expectations. The loss to Mexico in the first round, which dropped the Americans to second place in the final pool standings, may represent a setback as they now have to face red-hot Venezuela.
USA's starting pitcher has been announced as Lance Lynn. Martín Pérez, who started their Venezuela's first pool game, would figure to be that team's projected starter although the extra day's rest (Team USA was guaranteed to play on Saturday, giving Venezuela an additional day off instead of playing on Friday) may see a tweak to the rotation.
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When and where is the USA Vs Venezuela game?
Team USA will play Venezuela at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, with first pitch set for just after 7pm Eastern time (also 7pm in Venezuela, 4pm Pacific time) on Saturday, March 18.
Venezuela will have the home-team advantage of batting in the bottom half of each inning by virtue of winning Pool D, while Team USA finished as runner-up in Pool C.
The prize for the winner is a semi-final on Sunday, March 19, against Cuba.
World Baseball Classic history: USA vs Venezuela
The teams met three times in the 2009 World Baseball Classic (which was played as a modified double-elimination tournament), with the United States winning the first clash between them 15–6.
However, Venezuela bounced back with a 5–3 win in the seeding match of their first-round pool, before repeating with a 10–6 victory in the seeding match in their second-round pool. Both teams were eliminated in the semi-finals that year, meaning there was no fourth meeting between the sides at that 2009 tournament.
The teams last played each other in the second round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, with the U.S. clinching a 4–2 win en route to winning the trophy.
- Overall WBC head-to-head record: Tied 2–2
How to watch World Baseball Classic USA vs Venezuela
In the United States, the match-up will be telecast from 7pm Eastern on FOX. Spanish-language coverage is available on Fox Deportes. Streaming is available through the FOX Sports app.
In Venezuela, Inter/ByM Sport, Venevision, IVC, Simple TV hold the broadcast rights to the World Baseball Classic. Check local listings.