Venezuela wasted no time putting runs on the board in their first pool play game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic, where they defeated the Netherlands by a final score of 6-2. It was Javier Sanoja‘s second-inning home run that gave Venezuela a lead that they wouldn’t look back on.
Sanoja was in Venezuela’s lineup after it was reported that Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio was hit by a pitch in an exhibition game, knocking him out of the lineup for the first game. Sanoja, who joined the team as a utility piece, got the start, hitting eighth in the lineup and playing center field.
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WP: Ranger Suárez
LP: Antwone Kelly
“That’s just part of my role,” Sanoja told reporters following the game. “I know what my role is, and I love what my role is because I know I can help my team, and in reality, I just feel so happy. When it comes to when I found out I was going to start, I found out last night.”
On the first pitch of the at-bat against the Netherlands pitcher Antwone Kelly, Sanoja hit a 98.3 mph homer to left field, giving Venezuela a 2-1 lead. That was Sanoja’s first-ever at-bat in the World Baseball Classic. He would finish the game going two for four with a homer.
“It was an emotional moment,” Sanoja said. “It’s just another feeling with Venezuela on my chest; it felt great. To see all the Venezuelan fans in the stands, it will be an unforgettable moment for me.”
Sanoja is one of 10 Marlins participating in the tournament. He, alongside prospects Ian Lewis Jr. (Great Britain) and Yiddi Cappe (Cuba), was all in their respective teams’ starting lineups.
It didn’t take long for Omar Lopez‘s team to get on the board first. On the first pitch in the bottom of the first inning, Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. laced a 112.1. mph double to left center field. Luis Arraez, the former Marlins second baseman, is back where he had a career year and drove Acuña in on an RBI single, giving Venezuela a 1-0 lead.
It wouldn’t be until the bottom of the fifth inning that Venezuela would score again, but it was worth the wait, as they knocked in four runs. With the bases loaded, Luis Arraez worked a five-pitch walk, which drove in a run. Following a pitching change for the Netherlands, Red Sox first baseman Wilson Contreras drove in two more runs on an RBI single, making it 5-1, and his Red Sox teammate Wilyer Abreu drove in the fourth run of the inning, sixth overall in the game, on an RBI single.
Ranger Suarez, who got the start for Venezuela in their first pool play game, only went two innings, allowing one run on three hits, walking, and striking out one. A reminder that pitchers have a limit of 65 pitches in the pool play round, so he only threw 43 pitches in this start. It is unclear if the Boston Red Sox placed any restrictions on the left-handed starter.
The lineup for the Netherlands featured four big leaguers, but in the nine spot, prospect Druw Jones, son of manager Andruw Jones, was in the lineup. The Arizona Diamondbacks’ No. 16 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, drove in Hendrik Clementina on an RBI single to tie the game at one apiece in the top of the second inning. Jones drove in the Netherlands second run of the ballgame on a sac fly, making it 6-2.
Kelly, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ No. 9 prospect on MLB Pipeline, made the start for the Netherlands, and in three innings of work, he surrendered two runs on four hits, one walk, and one strikeout. His fastball topped out at 100.3 mph and his lone strikeout victim was Abreu.
Venezuela, who moves to 1-0, will face Israel in the nightcap on Saturday, while the Netherlands, who drop to 0-1, once again plays in the early game, at noon against Nicaragua.
Kevin Barral is on-site in Miami covering the World Baseball Classic for DiamondCentric.