The big hit? The WBC. Still looking for that big hit? Team USA.

"You can say all you want about how the World Baseball Classic has matured into a must-see event for fans and a must-play event for the game's elite players. You can salute Venezuela for a spirited and thrilling victory, and the Venezuelan fans for nine innings of joyful delirium. But you also can say this: A U.S. team billed as featuring a killer lineup could not hit, and the U.S. could not use its best pitcher because the San Diego Padres said so."

"By the time the eighth inning rolled around, the mighty U.S. offense had not gotten a runner into scoring position on Tuesday, and had gone scoreless for 18 of its previous 19 innings. With two out in the eighth, and Venezuela up 2-0, Bobby Witt Jr. walked, and Harper followed with a 432-foot home run, so monstrous that Venezuelan pitcher Andres Machado could only watch the flight of the ball and smile."

"I'm not OK with winning silver. I don't want to win silver. I want to win gold, just like anybody else. But, at the end of the night, they did it, they won, all the congratulations to them. They fought hard. I've got nothing but respect for them."

Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic championship with a 3-2 victory over the United States. The U.S. team, despite being promoted as having a powerful lineup, failed to generate offensive production, going scoreless for 18 of 19 innings and never getting a runner into scoring position until the eighth inning. The American squad was further hampered by the unavailability of its best pitcher, whom the San Diego Padres prevented from playing. This marks the second consecutive World Baseball Classic where the U.S. lost the championship by the same 3-2 score. Bryce Harper expressed disappointment with the silver medal result, though he acknowledged Venezuela's strong performance and fighting spirit throughout the tournament.

Read at Los Angeles Times