By Rory Carroll
March 16 (Reuters) – A battle-tested Venezuela squad said they respect the star-studded U.S. team but have no plans of backing down in Tuesday’s final after pulling off a thrilling come-from-behind victory to reach the World Baseball Classic championship game.
Venezuela, who rallied to stun defending champions Japan in the quarter-finals, did the same to Italy in Monday’s semi-final behind a two-out, three-run seventh inning to emerge a 4-2 winner in front of a delirious, pro-Venezuela crowd in Miami.
“In the beginning of this competition, a lot of people didn’t believe in our team. But now we’re here, going for our first time to the final,” said slugger Eugenio Suarez, whose solo home run in the fourth inning got Venezuela on the board.
“We have to do it for our country.”
He said it would take everything the team has to beat a U.S. club that has assembled arguably the best lineup every put on a baseball field.
“It’s not easy. They have been playing really good baseball. They are superstars, we all know that. But we came to win and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Maikel Garcia, who grew up in Venezuela and plays for the Kansas City Royals, delivered the go-ahead single on Monday, and said playing for his home country in a stadium dominated by Venezuela fans was “a dream come true.”
“I’ve never been in a place like this and played the way I am playing. It’s amazing,” he said.
“We want to bring the championship to the country. Venezuela is a baseball country… We have to show them we have a great team.”
He expects that playing in the WBC will improve his performance when the new MLB season gets underway later this month, but added that the experiences were completely different.
“The big leagues are not like this,” he said.
“This is amazing, this is different, and this is going to help me play better in the big leagues.”
Venezuela is seeking its first championship while the United States is aiming for its second crown in Tuesday’s final, which will be held at loanDepot Park in Miami.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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