WBC Championship: Eduardo Rodriguez Does Great Job Early as Venezuela Beats Team USAs Strong Lineup
The championship round has. If the first inning is any indication fans are in for a good game. Venezuelas top hitters did well. It was their experienced left pitcher, Eduardo Rodriguez, who did a great job against Team USAs strong hitters.
Venezuela Starts Aggressively
Venezuelas plan was clear from the start: Hit the ball early. Ronald Acuña Jr., known for being aggressive didn’t wait. He hit a single on the pitch putting pressure on the American defense.
The momentum changed quickly. Mikey Garcia—a 2025 All-Star who did well against Italy—hit into a play. Alex Bregman made a play throwing a perfect strike to Brice Turang to get rid of the Acuña threat. A flyout by Luis Arraez ended the inning keeping the game scoreless.
E-Rod Does Well Against Stars
All eyes were on 32-year-old Eduardo Rodriguez as he pitched. After an outing against the Dominican Republic Rodriguez looked like a different pitcher tonight.
Team USAs lineup has great players but Rodriguez did well:
- Bobby Witt Jr.: He retired on one pitch (flyout to Jackson Chourio).
- Bryce Harper: He struggled with Rodriguezs fastball. Popped out to shallow left.
- Aaron Judge: The Captain had an at-bat. Rodriguez threw a pitch to get him out.
Stat to Watch: Aaron Judge has struggled against Rodriguez in the past going 5-for-33. Rodriguez used pitches to keep Judge uncomfortable.
Key Takeaways for Team USA
If Mark DeRosas team wants to score they need to adjust to Rodriguezs pitching. While the American lineup has hitters, like Kyle Schwarber and Roman Anthony they’ll need to find ways to get past Venezuelas defense if the top hitters continue to struggle.
| Batting Order | Team USA (Lineup) | Key Achievement / Role | Team Venezuela (Lineup) | Key Achievement / Role |
| #1 | Bobby Witt Jr. | 2024 Gold Glove Winner | Ronald Acuña Jr. | 40-70 Club & MVP |
| #2 | Bryce Harper | 2-Time NL MVP | Mikey Garcia | 2025 All-Star |
| #3 | Aaron Judge | 3-Time AL MVP (Captain) | Luis Arraez | 3-Time Batting Champ |
| #4 | Kyle Schwarber | 2-Time Silver Slugger | Anthony Santander | Power Hitter (Cleanup) |
| #5 | Alex Bregman | 2-Time World Series Champ | Jackson Chourio | Rising Star / Outfield |
| #6 | Roman Anthony | Youngest Player (21 yrs) | Salvador Perez | 8-Time All-Star |
| #7 | Will Smith | World Series Champion | Gleyber Torres | Infielder |
| #8 | Brice Turang | Defensive Specialist | Andrés Giménez | Platinum Glove |
| #9 | Byron Buxton | 2-Time All-Star | David Peralta | Veteran Outfield |
Wilyer Abreu goes yard to add to Team Venezuela’s lead in the Championship vs. Team USA! 🇻🇪
Nola Mlan pitched well giving up one run through four innings. You’re a winner, one of the few. Most people thought these guys would be early and the bullpen would carry the load. We thought the offenses would do well. Here’s a drive to center field by ABRAU. WILLIAM ABRAU hits it out. It’s hot really hot.. Venezuela is up 2-0. The ball went to Salvador Perez. Abrau is known more for his fielding so far in the major leagues. He’s a hitter really good. Hes getting better at hitting, which is already pretty good.
The bullpen is ready. Brad Keller we have five innings to see which country wins the World Baseball Classic. I think the Boston Red Sox have done great in the World Baseball Classic with many of their players making an impact. Roman Anthony plays for team USA. Jiren Durant from Mexico hit three home runs. Brian Bea pitched amazingly for the Dominican Republic.. Garrett Whitlock did a great job in the bullpen.
What Greg Weisser did for team Italy was impressive. Mlan comes back. Its a full count on Perez. I think the Boston Red Sox will win games than they did last year. Young players like this are getting better and improving. It’s nice to see a handed swing like that right to center field. It’s routine for Buckton. One out, in the fifth. William Abrau hits it to center field. He lost his helmet as he rounded the bases.
| Player Name (Team) | At-Bat Outcome | Pitcher (Team) | Key Stat / Fact |
| Ronald Acuña Jr. (VEN) | Single (1st Pitch) | Team USA Starter | Story of his career; loves the low fastball. |
| Mikey Garcia (VEN) | Grounded into Double Play | Team USA Starter | 2025 All-Star; erased the early lead-off threat. |
| Luis Arraez (VEN) | Flyout (End of Inning) | Team USA Starter | 3-time Batting Champ; went 0-for-1 in the 1st. |
| Bobby Witt Jr. (USA) | Flyout (1st Pitch) | Eduardo Rodriguez | Quick out on the very first pitch of the US inning. |
| Bryce Harper (USA) | Pop Out (Shallow Left) | Eduardo Rodriguez | Has struggled against high velocity throughout this tournament. |
| Aaron Judge (USA) | Strikeout (Looking) | Eduardo Rodriguez | Now 5-for-34 career against Rodriguez; out on a backdoor cutter. |
What are the most unbreakable records in MLB?
- With five-man rotations, it is literally impossible for any starter to make enough starts to win 59 games in a season.
2. When most people hear “strikeouts,” Nolan Ryan is usually the first name that comes to mind. Throughout his 27-year career, he struck out an unprecedented 5,714 batters. The closest active pitcher to that feat is CC Sabathia with more than 2,500 strikeouts in his 14 year career.
3. Miguel Cabrera tops all active players with a .321 career batting average after 13 seasons. To put that into perspective, he would have to hit over .400 for the rest of his career to come close to the Georgia Peach, Ty Cobb, with his .366 career average.
4. Every season a player starts a good hit streak and every season we hear about the Yankee Clipper’s famous record (Joe DiMaggio). But no one ever gets close to 56. The closest an active player has come is Jimmy Rollins in 2005 with a 38-game streak.
5. Pete Rose’s record of 4,256 hits, set 30 years ago, is safe. Alex Rodriguez is the closest active player with Ichiro behind him. Both are near the end of their careers and more than 1,200 hits behind ‘Charlie Hustle’.
6. In today’s world of pitch counts and specialty relievers, it’s safe to say the Big Train’s 110 career shutouts won’t be messed with (Walter Johnson). Tim Hudson leads active M LB pitchers with 13 shutouts after 17 seasons.
7. With the obvious desire of manager to rest star players by giving them a day off every now and then, it is unimaginable anyone will come even close to Cal Ripken’s streak of 2,632 consecutive games played.
8. It’s hard enough to throw a no-hitter, let alone two in a row. That’s what Johnny Vander Meer did in 1938. To break this record, one would have to pitch three consecutive no-nos, which is virtually impossible.
9. People wonder when we’ll see another 300-game winner. There won’t be any in the near future (active leader Tim Hudson has just 219). Cy Young’s 511 career wins is untouchable the way the game is played now, with five-man rotations and few complete games. A pitcher would have to average 25 wins over 20 seasons to get there.
10. To put this into perspective, a pitcher would have to complete the game pretty much every start in his career over 22 seasons to come close to Young’s 749 career complete games.
What MLB player holds the record for most games played?
That would be Hideki Masui in 2003. He played 163 regular season games for the Yankees, plus 17 post-season games for 180 total. The 163rd regular season game is an odd story. It wasn’t a tie-breaker, but a make-up game. The Yankees had played the Orioles in a game that was called after five innings for weather, in a 1–1 tie. MLB, in its wisdom, decided to count it as an official game for statistics, but not to count it in either teams’ record, so it was made up with a later game.
Here are the 12 players with more than 175 games in a season:
- Hideki Matsui (2003) 163 + 17 = 180
- Luis Gonzalez (2001) 162 + 17 = 179
- Hunter Pence (2014) 162 + 17 = 179
- Juan Pierre (2003) 162 + 17 = 179
- Cody Bellinger (2018) 162 + 16 = 178
- Alcides Escobar (2014) 162 + 15 = 177
- Jon Jay (2011) 159 + 18 = 177
- Andruw Jones (1999) 162 + 14 = 176
- Ryan Howard (2008) 162 + 14 = 176
- Robinson Cano (2009) 161 + 15 = 176
- Dustin Pedroia (2013) 160 + 16 = 176
- Michael Young (2011) 159 + 17 = 176