MIAMI, Florida — The party started before the game and spilled outside the park after Venezuela upset the defending World Baseball Classic champions from Japan in a back-and-forth game that thrilled more than 35,000 fans at loanDepot park. The MLB star-studded lineups from both countries played with an energy that matched October baseball, and maybe even put it to shame at times. After all when was the last time you got up for a drink and ran into a drum line with dancing fans at a playoff game?
The game began with a leadoff home run from Ronald Acuña Jr. to give Venezuela an early lead. Shohei Ohtani is not to be trifled with, however and matched that in the bottom of the first for Japan. According to Sarah Langs, no game in MLB history began the way last night’s action between Venezuela and Japan started:
It only got better from there with Gleyber Torres driving in a go-ahead run for Venezuela in the second before Japan chased Venezuela’s starter Ranger Suárez from the game in the third inning. It looked like Japan might put this away with this three-run home run by Shota Morishita, who replaced Seiya Suzuki in the game after Suzuki was injured trying to steal second base:
Venezuela was not to be deterred, however. Jackson Chourio led off the fifth inning with a walk to set up this two-run blast by Maikel García making it just a one-run lead for Japan:
The skip and hop as García rounds first when he knows it’s gone is everything. Or, at least was everything until Wilyer Abreu entered the chat and decided to see if a no doubt home run and bat flip for the ages could power a country of 30 million people:
Some things can only happen at the World Baseball Classic, like running into Daniel Palencia’s mom while browsing in the store and having her joyously pose for a picture of her wearing her son’s team jersey:
Palencia came on to close out the game and was all business as he threw pure gasolina:
Palencia struck out the first two batters before facing Shohei Ohtani. How could this game possibly end otherwise? The greatest baseball player on the face of the Earth had to be thwarted to end such a perfect game. Ohtani popped out to shallow center to end an absolutely wild baseball game:
If you thought the celebrations in the concourse during the game were elite, they had nothing on the energy flowing through loanDepot park after Venezuela won:
Your eyes don’t deceive you at the end of that video, a fan from Japan now decked out in a Venezuela hat borrowed a Venezuelan flag and joined the celebration. He was not alone. The after party spilled into a dance party outside the park where fans of both teams danced until the wee hours of the morning:
These fans may come from opposite sides of the world and speak different languages, but that’s all irrelevant at the World Baseball Classic in Miami. We all know how to dance. We’re all powered on bat flips and vibes. The common language is baseball and we all speak it fluently.
