At one point, Pablo López was set to be Team Venezuela's ace for this year's WBC. Unfortunately, López had to miss the WBC and will be sidelined for the entire 2026 season after suffering a torn UCL in February. It was a brutal blow for the Twins, who were counting on López to lead their starting rotation along with Joe Ryan.
When the news broke that López would be out for the entire season, it seemed that Venezuela had a much lower chance of winning a WBC title, especially given the stacked rosters of the Dominican Republic and the USA.
However, Venezuela battled through adversity. After finishing 3-1 in pool play, with its only loss to the loaded Dominican Republic team, Venezuela defeated the reigning WBC champions in Japan, a red-hot Team Italy and a USA team many viewed as the best baseball roster ever assembled en route to winning the WBC Championship.
Pablo López celebrating with Team Venezuela after win vs. USA is feel-good Twins moment
While López certainly wishes he could've pitched for Venezuela during the tournament, he is undoubtedly happy his home country won its first-ever WBC title.
Pablo López celebrating with his team. pic.twitter.com/WR8snVluaC
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) March 18, 2026
López's injury is still a huge bummer for Twins fans. But at least we can be happy for him after Venezuela's victory against Team USA, even if most of us wanted the United States to win. Byron Buxton didn't win a gold medal, but on the bright side, López and former Twins fan favorite Luis Arráez got to celebrate with Team Venezuela.
Led by left-handed starting pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez, Venezuela almost shutout a Team USA lineup that includes Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., Will Smith, Kyle Schwarber and more All-Stars. Venezuela led 2-0 with two outs in the eighth inning before Bryce Harper tied the game with a majestic two-run homer.
Team USA didn't have much to be happy about for long, as Venezuela immediately took back the lead in the top of the ninth inning on an RBI double from Eugenio Suárez.
EUGENIO SUÁREZ PUTS TEAM VENEZUELA AHEAD IN THE 9TH! pic.twitter.com/LtpLdYII5f
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 18, 2026
Venezuela's 3-2 lead held up, as closer Daniel Palencia pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth inning, putting Venezuela fans into a frenzy. It was an awesome moment for Venezuela, and an awesome moment for López in a year that began roughly for the Twins righty. Let's hope López has more reasons to celebrate this season, and that it's because the Twins exceeded expectations by making a surprise playoff run.