Despite an early lead, New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean's outing saw two runs scored before Venezuela ultimately clinched the World Baseball Classic title.
New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean was given the start in a winner-take-all World Baseball Classic final between Venezuela and Team USA.
Team USA defeated the Dominican Republic on Sunday, and Venezuela topped red-hot Italy on Monday to get to the final game on Tuesday night at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida.
McLean allowed three runs in three innings with a pair of home runs in his first start of the WBC in the USA's 8-6 loss to Italy.
However, McLean said he was "built for this" after manager Mark DeRosa named him the starter for the championship game.
McLean started off well, throwing two scoreless innings before allowing a sacrifice fly in the top of the third in what was the first run of the game for either team.
That inning could've gone south quickly for McLean, as the sac fly came with runners on second and third with just one out.
In the fifth, McLean allowed a solo home run to Wilyer Abreu, and McLean wound up being pulled before the end of the fifth inning.
McLean finished the game with two runs and four hits in 4.2 innings with four strikeouts, so it was a decent outing for the Mets pitcher.
In the end, Garrett Whitlock gave up the go-ahead and game-winning RBI double to Eugenio Suarez in the top of the ninth, and Venezuela would up winning the WBC final by a score of 3-2.
Team USA had other options rather than McLean, although Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes threw 4.1 innings in the semifinal game and Detroit Tigers star Tarik Skubal made just one start before returning to training camp.
And, Jon Heyman revealed that Team USA had recruited plenty of other starting pitchers entering the tournament.
McLean even got through the first inning with just five pitches, but the solo home run to Abreu was a big turning point in the game and appeared to give Venezuela some life.
Now, McLean and Team USA will finish as runner-ups once again in the World Baseball Classic.
For McLean, he is set for a big role for the Mets, and MLB.com projects him as the No. 2 starter behind former Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta, so there are high hopes for McLean entering the 2026 MLB campaign.
At the end of the day, it wasn't an awful outing for McLean, although fans certainly wondered why DeRosa went with him instead of using somebody else.