Venezuela shuts out DR to win 8th Caribbean Series title

MIAMI -- Before a raucous crowd of 36,677 at loanDepot park on Friday – the largest in Caribbean Series history and bigger than that of the 2023 World Baseball Classic final between the United States and Japan at the same venue (36,098) -- the Tiburones de la Guaira (Venezuela) captured their first ever title in the tournament of winter league champions, with a 3-0 win over Tigres del Licey (Dominican Republic).

The culmination of the first Caribbean Series played at a Major League stadium marked the first championship for Venezuela as a nation since 2009, when Tigres de Aragua won at Mexicali, Mexico. In the process, the Tiburones avenged the defeat suffered by their countrymen of Leones del Caracas against Licey at last year’s series in Venezuela.

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In addition to the large contingent of Venezuelan fans on hand, the championship game was attended by familiar names such as Miguel Cabrera and Gleyber Torres pulling for Venezuela, as well as Juan Soto, Eury Pérez and Sandy Alcántara cheering on the Dominican squad.

“Things turned out the way we hoped,” said Tiburones reliever Jojanse Torres. “The Venezuelan fans deserved it.”

In the Friday final, a sacrifice fly by Alcides Escobar in the bottom of the fourth off Licey starter César Valdez started the scoring for the Tiburones. An inning later, Hernán Pérez hit a run-scoring triple, followed by an RBI groundout by Odúbel Herrera -- who had entered the game earlier for Yasiel Puig, who suffered a leg injury with an awkward fall after making a catch on a line drive in the first inning.

That was all the offense the Venezuelan club would need. Series MVP Ricardo Pinto threw 5 2/3 innings against Licey. Manager Ozzie Guillén’s deep bullpen came through again, with Jorgan Cavanerio, Silvino Bracho, Anthony Vizcaya and closer Anthony Hernández shutting down the Dominican Republic the rest of the way. The Tigres’ best chance came in the sixth, when they loaded the bases with two outs against Pinto, only to have Cavanerio get Yadiel Hernández on a groundout to short to end the threat.

Now, Venezuela can celebrate its eighth Caribbean Series championship and the nation’s first in 15 years.

“It’s really big for me to be a part of this, for a country that had such a long drought in the Caribbean Series,” said Cuba-born right-hander Miguel Romero, who notched two wins in the series, including 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball on Thursday in the semifinal game vs. Curacao.

Licey, managed this year by Gilbert Gómez, remains the winningest club in Caribbean Series history, with 11 championships. The Dominican Republic is also the all-time leader in wins by country with 22.

The 2024 Caribbean Series was the first of its kind, as the tradition of rotating participating countries to host the event was paused this year. Although the 1990 and 1991 editions were played in Miami -- the former at the Orange Bowl and the latter at Bobby Maduro Stadium -- this was the first at an MLB venue. In addition to the attendance record set on Friday, the Feb. 3 game between Licey and Criollos de Caguas (Puerto Rico) also set a then-record, with 35,972, now No. 2 on the list of most attended Caribbean Series games.

“This is a real milestone,” said Juan Francisco Puello Herrera, president of the Caribbean Confederation of Professional Baseball. “I had no doubt that we would have this kind of success.”

The next three Caribbean Series will be played as follows: 2025 at Mexicali, Mexico; 2026 at San Juan, Puerto Rico; and 2027 at Hermosillo, Mexico.