MIAMI – Israel opened play on Saturday night, after appropriately having had the sabbath as their off-day during group play.
Facing mighty Venezuela, they fell behind early and weren’t able to battle back, allowing four runs in the bottom of the first before recording the second out of the frame, ultimately losing their opener at the 2026 World Baseball Classic 11-3.
“We have games almost every day, and you get very good at putting last night or yesterday in the rear view mirror and just keep looking out the windshield. This one will be flushed and we’ll be ready to go tomorrow night,” said Israel manager Brad Ausmus.
Venezuela’s Luis Arraez, familiar with loanDepot Park from his time with Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins, feasted on Israel’s pitching as though it were Passover, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and two homers, driving in five runs. Eugenio Suarez contributed a two-run homer, and Maikel Garcia drive in a pair of runs with a sixth-inning single.
Luis Arráez has 3 home runs in his last 3 WBC games going back to 2023. You simply can’t challenge a slugger like Luis Arráez! pic.twitter.com/1hkyYqXTB0
— Jeff Duda (@INTLBaseball24) March 8, 2026
“He was driving the ball today. Had the year early gapper and then the two homers, and then the last hit in the eighth inning, too. It was just all Luis Arraez,” Ausmus said. “The big first inning hurt us a ton. Suarez’ home run. If we could have gotten out of there with two runs, you feel like you’re in the fight. It was just all Venezuela. They outhit us, they outplayed us, they outpitched us.”
Facing Princeton, N.J.-native Ben Simon, a New York Mets farmhand who hasn’t played above Double-A and served as Israel’s opener, Venezuela wasted little time, with Ronald Acuna Jr. drawing a walk to lead off the bottom of the first. After Maikel Garcia struck out, Arraez torched Simon for a double, scoring Acuna, and then Salvador Perez singled, sending Arraez home. Suarez then hit Simon’s 3-2 pitch into the left field bullpen, making it 4-0 and ending Simon’s night after 1/3 of an inning.
On the mound, Venezuela starter Enmanuel De Jesus, who has pitched the last two seasons in South Korea’s KBO League, was perfect through 4 2/3 innings before he allowed a triple to Garret Stubbs. Stubbs scored when Matt Mervis singled, cutting the lead to 4-1.
But Venezuela wasn’t done, with Arraez hitting a solo homer in the fifth, and an inning later, they poured on five more runs, getting a two-run single from Garcia and then a three-run homer from Arraez that made it 10-, his second in as many innings and his second multi-homer game in the WBC play — an impressive feat, considering he’s never had a multi-homer game in 840 career games in Major League Baseball.
LUIS ARRAEZ AGAIN ?
He has three hits and FIVE RBI! pic.twitter.com/sy8e1b77GO
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 8, 2026
R.J. Schreck homered for Israel in the sixth, hitting a two-out solo homer into the upper deck in top of the sixth, and Harrison Bader added a solo homer in the ninth.
With the win, Venezuela improved to 2-0 and has Sunday off, while Israel faces Nicaragua in tomorrow’s late game at loanDepot Park.
” We’re just going to — right now we have Nicaragua in front of us,” Ausmus said. “I don’t like putting the cart in front of the horse, so that’s the focus. Certainly need to win tomorrow.”
Photo: Luis Arraez reacts after hitting a three run home run during the sixth inning of a World Baseball Classic game against Israel, Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
