Miami, Florida– It was a packed house at loanDepot Park on Monday night as over 27,000 fans were in attendance to see Venezuela (2-0) take on Nicaragua (0-3). Venezuela looked to stay atop of the Pool D standings with a victory while Nicaragua continued to compete and earn their first ever victory in the World Baseball Classic.
When Ronald Acuna Jr. is your leadoff hitter, it shows how potent and dangerous that lineup can be, and playing these games in Miami, Marlins fans know all too well of how dominant Ronald Acuna Jr. is and the many different ways he can impact a game. He sits up there with other Atlanta Braves Marlins killers like Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Brian McCann, and the list goes on. Acuna Jr. has been a thorn in the Marlins’ side, especially in spacious loanDepot Park, for years and Nicaragua got a glimpse of his greatness and how he can decide a game all on his own.
Acuna Jr.’s Second Home loanDepot Park
The 5-time All Star set the tone from the very first at-bat of the game. Against Nicaragua’s starting pitcher, Danilo Bermudez, Acuna Jr. drew a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher and ended up scoring on a sacrifice fly by Jackson Chourio. With just two batters and Acuna Jr.’s speed, Venezuela already had a 1-0 lead.
After Bermudez pitched a scoreless second inning and got the first two outs of the third, up came Acuna Jr. for his second at-bat. In one swing, he doubled Venezuela’s lead with a solo home run and his first of the WBC.
Venezuela leads 2-0 against Nicaragua after Ronald Acuna Jr.’s solo home run in the top of the 3rd. Crowd erupted the ball went off the bat. #WorldBaseballClassic @LemonCityLive @Gabewritesports pic.twitter.com/HKMIvK0uhr
— Alex “Milo” Aguirre (@aguirrethecap33) March 9, 2026
In the fifth inning, Venezuela put together a rally capped off by Acuna Jr. With one out, William Contreras reached first base on an error and advanced to second after Gleyber Torres drew a walk the following at-bat. After Andres Gimenez lined out, Nicaragua still had to face Acuna Jr. to escape the jam. It was a pick your poison decision at that moment for Nicaragua Manager, Dusty Baker. He could of intentionally walked Acuna Jr. to load the bases but the next batter was Chourio which is not an easy matchup by no means.
Baker and Nicaragua decided to pitch to Acuna Jr. and he made them pay with an RBI single to left field to give Venezuela a 3-0 lead. They would go on to score another run in the sixth inning to make it 4-0, but clearly Acuna Jr. was a one-man wrecking crew going 3-3 with two runs batted in, a walk, and a stolen base.
Ronald Acuña Jr. remains a menace at loadDepot Park. #WorldBaseballClassicpic.twitter.com/pxs8AuvVf0
— Gabriel Garcia (@Gabewritesports) March 10, 2026
Farewell Dusty?
Although Nicaragua fell to 0-4 in this tournament and were already eliminated statistically before a pitch was even thrown, they showed a lot of fight even outhitting Venezuela 7-5 and two of the four runs they gave up were unearned. Just like in the previous WBC, Nicaragua has yet to win a game in this tournament but all eyes and ears were concentrated on their manager, Dusty Baker, and if this is the end to his illustrious, potentially hall of fame managerial career.
At 76 years old, it could be it for the 2022 World Series champion manager, but then again, many were surprised to see him come out of retirement to coach Nicaragua. A testament to his love and involvement in the game no matter the players and teams.
At the moment, he stated in his post game conference that his work obligations are tied to the San Francisco Giants. He will be focusing on that role, but he never gave a definitive answer if this is his final stop or if he is officially retiring from managing. He last managed in the majors in 2023 and it’s not too far fetched to see him come back. Marlins fans remember Jack McKeon coming out of retirement in 2011 at 80-years-old. If you have the resume, teams will call.
If Dusty decides to officially call it quits, it was one hell of a career as a player but even more as a manager with a 2183 – 1862 record spanning 26 seasons including a World Series Championship with the with the Houston Astros. Expect his name in Cooperstown as the 25th manager inducted into the Hall of Fame.
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