Venezuela won a perfect 4-0 in the much-anticipated Pool D competition in Miami to stay top of the table against Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua and Israel.
“That was a bear from a pool,” US coach Mark DeRosa said on Friday. “So it was pretty impressive that they went unbeaten. But no, [I’m] not shocked at all by the amount of talent they have at this club. We are excited about the opportunity and excited to board this plane to get here.”
“It’s only a matter of time, we thought, that the USA would be our rival on Saturday,” said Venezuela coach Omar López on Thursday. “And each coach started individually with the preparation.”
Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s matchup:
When and where: Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET at LoanDepot Park in Miami.
How to watch: The USA vs Venezuela game will be broadcast live on FOX. Each game can be streamed online on the FOX Sports App. For international viewing options, click here.
How to Listen: Live audio coverage of all games will be streamed on Sirius XM, TuneIn, MLB.com and the MLB App.
What’s at stake: In a single-elimination round, the winner of this quarterfinal match meets Cuba in the semifinals on Sunday night. Venezuela last reached the semi-finals in 2009 before losing to South Korea. USA reached the semifinals in 2017 and won the entire tournament against Puerto Rico.
Matchup History: USA and Venezuela met in the second round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic. The USA rallied for an eighth inning with three runs – including home runs from Adam Jones and Eric Hosmer – to win 4-2.
Salvador Perez, C, Venezuela: Perez was named Pool D MVP after being 5-on-10 on the plate in his first three games. He drove in five runs and connected for three doubles and a home run (.500/.545/1.100) during that stretch.
Mike Trout, CF, USA: Trout propelled the USA to a 3-2 win over Colombia on Wednesday. He went 3-for-4 and drove in all of the US heats. Trout is posting .417/.588/.833 in his first four WBC games.
