0-1 Israel lost 11-3 against a loaded 2-0 Venezuela team for its first game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic in Miami, Florida.
22,573 fans came out for Saturday night baseball. Venezuelan flags, cheers and instruments filled loanDepot Park’s seats with Israel fans scattered in a sea of red, blue and yellow.
Venezuela had Israel’s number to start the game. Enmanuel De Jesus struck out Cole Carrigg on four pitches to open the game. He forced Harrison Bader, the longest tenured MLB veteran on Israel’s roster, to lunge at a low and away changeup for the final out of the frame.
Ben Simon made his second professional start tonight and recorded only one out. Venezuela’s bats kept the pressure on the 23 year old for every pitch.
Former MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. worked a leadoff walk. Three time batting champion Luis Arraez split the right center field gap for an RBI double to start the scoring. Harrison Bader dove for the ball but stumbled and watched it roll to the wall.
Salvador Perez, playing in his fourth World Baseball Classic, picked up an RBI single on a line drive right in front of left fielder Zach Levenson.
Eugenio Suarez provided the knockout blow for Simon. He drilled a hung 85 MPH slider over the heart of the plate for a 386 foot two-run home run, giving the hearty Venezuela crowd a reason to explode with cheers.
Charlie Beilenson received the first Israel call to the bullpen. The right hander, a AA reliever in the Seattle Mariners’ organization, set down Wilyer Abreu and struck out Gleyber Torres to limit the damage to four runs.
Israel’s bats had no answers for De Jesus in their first time through the order. They struck out four times in their first nine at bats, registering exclusively weak contact otherwise.
Jordan Geber entered for Israel in the bottom of the third. The Annapolis native worked quickly outside of Israel’s second error of the game. Harrison Bader closed his glove early on a Salvador Perez weak fly ball, allowing it to drop and letting Perez take second base.
Geber escaped the jam with a strikeout of Wilyer Abreu for back to back scoreless innings by the Israel staff.
Israel got on the board in the fifth inning with a two out rally. Garrett Stubbs broke through against De Jesus with a two out triple dowh the right field line. Stubbs recorded Israel’s second ever triple in the World Baseball Classic and the first since Ike Davis in 2017.
Matt Mervis chopped a ball into no man’s land between De Jesus and Torres, allowing Stubbs to race home.
De Jesus struck out Jake Gelof to end his day and make history for Team Venezuela. He finished with eight strikeouts, setting a new record for strikeouts in a single game by a Venezuela pitcher.
Venezuela’s offense answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Luis Arraez drove a 93 MPH Geber fastball to the right field seats for his first home run of the tournament.
Israel stayed hot offensively in the sixth inning. New Venezuela reliever Ricardo Sanchez retired the first two hitters he faced before taking on RJ Schreck.
Schreck scooped an 87 MPH below the zone slider to hit Israel’s first home run of the WBC. He became the first Israel hitter to ever hit a home run in their debut game for the team.
Schreck also recorded the first Israel big fly since Nate Freiman against the Netherlands in 2017.
The Israel bullpen cracked in the sixth inning. New reliever Daniel Federman walked three of the first four he faced, bringing the top of Venezuela’s lineup to the plate with one out. Maikel Garcia pushed a top of the zone sinker to right field for a two run single, making it 7-2 Venezuela.
Luis Arraez broke the game open in the next at bat. Facing Israel’s new lefty Rob Kaminsky, Arraez hit his second home run of the game, squeaking right past the glove of a leaping RJ Schreck in the right field corner.
Arraez picked up another line drive double in the eighth to finish 4-5 with a WBC single game record of 12 total bases. He had never recorded more than 10 bases in a game during his MLB career.
Harrison Bader drilled a home run to straightaway center in the top of the ninth off Anthony Molina. Venezuela faltered on the mound but not enough to stop their 11-3 win.
Israel willl face Nicaragua at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow night.
