The dream team had a nightmare ending.
And even Bryce Harper’s late-inning heroics were not enough.
The United States rallied but lost 3-2 to Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic championship game at loanDepot park, falling short in the title game for the second straight tournament.
With the game tied in the top of the ninth, Eugenio Suarez delivered the go-ahead hit with an RBI double off reliever Garrett Whitlock.
Arguably the most talented lineup the U.S. has ever assembled in the WBC struggled throughout to muster not only hits but to make hard contact, as the Americans were stymied most of the game by the Venezuelan staff.
Harper had two of the three United States hits, with Brice Turang collecting the other. Captain Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber, hitting third and fourth in the lineup, went a combined 0-for-7 with six strikeouts.
The Americans had two singles and did not move a runner past first base until the eighth inning, when Harper stepped in and walloped a towering two-run homer 432 feet to center field to knot up the game.
Mets youngster Nolan McLean pitched well but couldn’t keep Venezuela off the board, as he yielded two runs over 4 2/3 innings. Wilyer Abreu had the big shot, a solo homer to lead off the fifth inning.
The U.S. bullpen then kept Venezuela in check until the ninth, when Whitlock crumbled, allowing his first run of the tournament.
Daniel Palencia shut down the Americans in the ninth, and Venezuela claimed its first WBC crown.
