Entering the WBC finals, despite its star power, Team USA is prepared to face Venezuela not as a juggernaut but as a team with serious questions to answer. As the tournament is about to end on March 17, the Stars and Stripes’ performance on the diamond is getting deeply analyzed. Why, even with a lineup having Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber, might they not have the upper hand?

Team USA is missing its offensive firepower

Team USA came into the WBC with elite hitters like Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, and Cal Raleigh. But outside the dominant wins over Brazil and Great Britain, every game stayed within 2 runs. For example, the game against the Dominican Republic in the semis, where Team USA won 2-1.

Their offense did not step up in critical moments, and solo homers from Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony are what saved them.

Even in games against Canada and Mexico, where the opposition had a half-decent pitching lineup, the team’s offense struggled to get hits and score runs.

This weakness becomes clearer when compared to Venezuela’s win over Italy.

Their offense stacked hits in the 7th inning, which sparked the comeback. But looking at the USA against the same opponent, they could not score a run until the bottom of the sixth inning (Henderson’s 414-foot homer). And even by that time, they were trailing 8-0.

Heading into the final, this contrast between the hitters on both teams could be where the headlines are.

While the USA’s bullpen with David Bednar and Mason Miller might help, if the offense cannot produce runs, one hit from Venezuela is all that will be needed to win the WBC.

Nolan McLean might not be the right man for the job

Starting Nolan McLean in the WBC finals carries a significant risk.

Against Italy, he opened the game with a 3-strikeout inning, but everything fell apart after that. Right from the 2nd inning, Team Italy’s batters started to nail on McLean with homers from Kyle Teel and Sam Antonacci.

This shifted the whole momentum of the games towards Team Italy. Italy scored 8 runs in the first 6 innings. McLean finished that game with 2 hits, 3 earned runs, and 4 strikeouts, and was replaced by Ryan Yarbrough after the 3rd inning.

And the biggest concern going into the WBC final is that Team Venezuela built a lineup based on contact hitting.

In the game against Italy, where the team had to come from behind to win 4-2, they scored 3 runs in the 7th inning just by hitting singles. Players like Luis Arráez and Ronald Acuna Jr. rely on making contact and getting the ball in play rather than power swings.

This style can pose a problem for pitchers like McLean because of its quickness, which increases the pitch count. Italy showed how quickly McLean’s outing shifted once hitters avoided chasing early pitches. If that pattern repeats, Venezuela’s approach suggests McLean could again struggle to settle into a rhythm.

Team USA’s bullpen is still not dependable

Team USA’s bullpen has not looked settled other than David Bednar and Mason Miller.

Arms like Ryan Yarbrough and Brad Keller have not consistently handled high-pressure moments.

In the game against Italy, after Ryan Yarbrough replaced Nolan McLean in the 3rd inning, Yarbrough gave away 2 runs in 2.1 innings. And he was the reason for 2 more runs after that. Brad Keller then replaced Yarbrough and gave away 2 more runs. And that was all Italy needed to secure the win against Team USA.

For Venezuela, a team that is coming off wins against the defending champions and the team that beat the USA, it will not be much of a challenge if they can get McLean out of the game quickly and expose Team USA’s bullpen.

Venezuela has allowed just 5 runs in 22 innings, compared to Team USA allowing 9 runs.

That difference reflects better control and fewer mistakes in high-pressure situations.

We have already seen in the game against Japan and Italy that the crowd in Miami is backing Venezuela. With that moral support, combined with the confidence of keeping Team Italy in check with 7.2 scoreless innings by six relievers, Ronald Acuna Jr.’s infield single to tie the game, and Maikel Garcia’s go-ahead run, the South American nation might be able to pull off a big upset against Team USA.