MIAMI – Ronald Acuña Jr. wasted no time announcing his presence at the 2026 World Baseball Classic with authority.
Facing the Netherlands’ Antwone Kelly, Venezuela’s leadoff man lined the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the first to the left center field gap for a stand-up double, drawing the heavily Venezuelan crowd at loanDepot Park to their feet. Two batters later, Auña scored on an infield single by Luis Arraez, giving Venezuela and early 1-0 lead.
After the Netherlands tied the game when Hendrik Clementina scored on a double by Druw Jones in the top of the second, Venezuela got the lead back in the bottom of the inning when Javier Sanoja launched a solo homer to left.
From there, Venezuela easily cruised to a 6-2 win in the opening game of Pool D of the 2026 World Baseball Classic, capitalizing on weak relief work by the Netherlands bullpen in the fifth inning, sending nine batters to the plate and scoring four runs.
With the win, Venezuela improves to 1-0, but the win against the Netherlands likely assures that the Vinotinos finish no lower than second in Pool D barring a major upset loss to Israel Saturday night or Nicaragua on March 9. Nicaragua went winless in pool play at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, while Israel’s only win came against Nicaragua.
Jaydenn Estantista came on for the Netherlands and hit Venezuela’s Andres Gimenez to start the inning, then walked Acuna, allowed a single to Maile Garcia that loaded the bases, and then walked Arraez to give Venezuela a 3-1 lead. The walk to Arraez got manager Andruw Jones out of the dugout to lift Estantisa, but his replacement, Eric Mendez, also struggled, allowing a two-run single to Wilson Contreras and an RBI single to Willyer Abreu that gave Venezuela a 6-1 lead.
The Netherlands added a run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Druw Jones. The son of newly-elected Baseball Hall of Famer and Netherlands manager Andruw Jones drove in both of the Netherlands’ runs in the game.
“It’s an honor to be able to play for the Kingdom and to be able to come out here and play my game at one of the highest stages,” the younger Jones said before the game, noting that there aren’t big expectations the team needs to live up to. “We’re going to go out there and win ballgames. No expectation, but we’re going to do all the little things right and do all we can to win.”
Jones’ squad fell to 0-1 with the loss, and will likely need to beat Nicaragua and Israel and either upset the Dominican Republic or get some help to have a shot at advancing out of pool play.
NOTEBOOK – Prior to the start of the opener, there was a moment of silence for former Netherlands captain Sidney de Jong, who passed away suddenly on Jan. 7. De Jong is best remembered for an 11th inning pinch-hit double off the Dominican Republic’s Carlos Marmol that sparked a Dutch rally in an upset win over the D.R. at the 2009 World Baseball Classic. … Jackson Chourio wasn’t in the Venezuela lineup after being hit by a pitch on the hand during Thursday’s exhibition game against the Washington Nationals. “He got a ball in the upper part of the right hand. He was wearing the protection, but it was a straight ball at 100 miles an hour. He’s going to be okay. The examination was done and everything is okay, but he had some swelling and he needs to rest.”
2026 World Baseball Classic Pool D Schedule
All times local
March 6
Venezuela 6, The Netherlands 2
7 p.m. EST – Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic – loanDepot Park – TV: FS2
March 7
Noon EST – Nicaragua vs. The Netherlands – loanDepot Park – TV: Tubi
7 p.m. EST – Israel vs. Venezuela – loanDepot Park – TV: FS2
March 8
Noon EST – The Netherlands vs. Dominican Republic – loanDepot Park – TV: FOX
7 p.m. EST – Nicaragua vs. Israel – loanDepot Park – TV: Tubi
March 9
Noon EST – Dominican Republic vs. Israel – loanDepot Park – TV: FS1
7 p.m. EST – Venezuela vs. Nicaragua – loanDepot Park – TV: FS2
March 10
7 p.m. EST – Israel vs. The Netherlands – loanDepot Park – TV: FOX App
March 11
8 p.m. EST – Dominican Republic vs. Nicaragua – loanDepot Park – TV: FS1
Photo: Venezuela’s right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr., center, celebrates with teammates after the end of a World Baseball Classic game against the Netherlands, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
