The 2026 World Baseball Classic has now come down to the final game: Team USA vs Team Venezuela. The USA, the perennial powerhouse of baseball, is up against a country that is fueled by pure passion for the game. But a significant obstacle stands in the way of the Americans, the arm of Nolan McLean against the might of Venezuela’s batting order.

Can rookie sensation McLean find his elite MLB form and silence a Venezuelan lineup? With the championship on the line, we break down the high-stakes lineups, the pitching duel of the century, and the final prediction for who will claim the trophy.

The predicted lineups for the WBC final for both teams

Team USA is predicted to get in the final with Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., and Kyle Schwarber anchoring the lineup. Judge has already shown the impact he can have on a game with 2 homers and his defensive work, like the catch of Juan Soto in the semis. Witt has also shown consistent production with 6 hits in 21 at-bats, including a multi-hit game against Mexico.

Kyle Schwarber has shown that he is not all about power by getting 8 hits in 22 at-bats, making him the best hitter on Team USA. Behind these three will be batters like Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony. Both of them have made a significant impact in a short time, especially with their homers against the Dominican Republic in the Semis, which won them the game.

And they will be followed by the likes of Cal Raleigh and Pete Crow-Armstrong to deepen the lineup. But we should not be surprised if Alex Bregman is starting the game in place of Brice Turang due to his experience in high-pressure games. And if Will Smith starts over Cal Raleigh, who hasn’t had a single hit all tournament.

On the other hand, Venezuela will start the game with Ronald Acuña Jr., who is no doubt in the team. He has scored 10 runs in this tournament, including the leadoff homer against the defending champions, Japan. Luis Arráez adds constant contact and will get on base consistently, as we saw against Israel, where he got 4 hits in 5 at-bats.

They also have Maikel García, who leads the tournament in hits with 10 hits in 23 at-bats. He will be followed by the line of Eugenio Suárez and Salvador Pérez, who bring in big-game experiences. Jackson Chourio adds the spark of youth in the middle of the lineup.

Eugenio Suárez was the guy who sparked the comeback against Italy in the semis with his solo homer and shifted the momentum. Pérez’s availability matters after alternating games, impacting lineup depth and late-game hitting options.

These lineups, backed by stats and facts, will give us one of the best offensive games in WBC history.

Nolan McLean vs Eduardo Rodriguez: The battle of starting pitchers

Nolan McLean will be on the mound for the USA in the WBC final against Venezuela. But many fans are unhappy that he is on the mound because of his game against Italy.

McLean started the game well with 3 strikeouts to end the first inning, but gave away three runs in the next two innings with two homers and two walks. That start by McLean gave Italy such momentum that they carried that through and scored 8 runs in 6 innings.

Although Team USA rallied back in the later innings, it wasn’t enough to get the win. But when you consider MLB, he has an ERA of 2.06 in his last 8 starts. But bats like Ronald Acuna Jr. could make him pay if he loses control early.

Venezuela is letting veteran Eduardo Rodriguez take the mound, but even he has struggled in the WBC. His game against the Dominican Republic showed how much he struggled, giving up 3 runs in 2.2 innings with 2 homers. But with 10 years of experience in the MLB and a career-low ERA of 3.30 in 2023, it gives the team the confidence that the veteran can step up in times of need. But his declining strikeout rate could be the real issue.

Both McLean and Rodriguez have the power to shift the game to their side if they can find control and go at least till the 4th inning in the game. McLean’s fastball and strikeout potential have shut down top hitters in MLB, as we have seen in the game against the Phillies, where he went eight innings and gave up just four hits.

Rodriguez comes to the mound with veteran experience and can escape high-pressure situations by getting the batters to hit weak contact or groundballs, like in the game against the Mets in 2025, where he had just 1K and 12 ground and fly outs. But if either pitcher’s composure falters, it could open the floodgates for the other team.

For McLean, the problem is that most of Venezuela’s batters focus on contact and putting the ball in play. So he might not get the death blow at once, but it will feel like death by a thousand cuts when batters like Ronald Acuña Jr., Maikel García, and Luis Arráez start to rack up hits.

For Rodriguez, the problem is that Team USA has enough power to uproot any pitcher with a single swing. That is what they did to the Dominican Republic in the semis. And with the swing-and-miss numbers of Rodriguez being low in recent years, hitters will be eyeing that one pitch and nail him to the board with it.

Predictions of the WBC final

Both Team USA and Venezuela have battled through tough knockout games to reach this 2026 WBC final. Venezuela overcame a 2-0 deficit to win the semis 4-2 against Italy. While Team USA had to fight off the tough Dominican Republic, 2-1, which had a stacked lineup with hitters like Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr.

But with Team USA featuring Aaron Judge, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper, they will always have a slight edge. Even with consistent bats like Acuna Jr. and Maikel García, the USA bullpen has been on another level. Mason Miller has had 8 strikeouts in 4 innings as a closer and a perfect ERA.

Considering all this, the prediction is that Team USA will edge past Venezuela to a 4-1 win and win the World Baseball Classic for the 2nd time in their history.