{"id":166266,"date":"2026-03-19T01:42:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T01:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=166266"},"modified":"2026-03-19T01:42:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T01:42:00","slug":"daniel-palencias-dominant-wbc-outing-validates-cubs-bold-bet-electric-stuff-shuts-down-doubters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=166266","title":{"rendered":"Daniel Palencia’s Dominant WBC Outing Validates Cubs’ Bold Bet \u2013 Electric Stuff Shuts Down Doubters"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Daniel<\/picture><\/div>\n
Daniel Palencia | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/div>\n

If anyone was paying attention to the World Baseball Classic, they saw a pitching showcase in both the semis and the finals, but one pitcher in particular put on an absolute clinic \u2014 Chicago Cubs closer Daniel Palencia.<\/p>\n

It was earlier this spring that Palencia was named the Cubs’ closer for the upcoming season after his 2025 performance, where he made saves in 22 of his 25 chances. He also finished 2025 with a sub-3.00 ERA while striking out 61 hitters in under 53 innings of work.<\/p>\n

After the year he had, it wasn’t a shock that he was named their closer for 2026, and how well he did throughout the World Baseball Classic confirmed that it was the right call.<\/p>\n

\"Daniel<\/p>\n

Daniel Palencia | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cubs make right call to name Palencia closer<\/h2>\n

Palencia suited up for his home country of Venezuela and took home the WBC title, defeating the United States 3-2 in the final game, where Palencia was called upon in the final inning to make sure that the Venezuelans would wear gold.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t just the final that Palencia’s team entrusted to him; he was also their closer in the semis against Italy, where he looked eerily similar. There wasn’t a run scored against him in that game either, and a pair of hitters were struck out as he sent his country to the finals.<\/p>\n

Palencia threw a full inning in each game that he checked into, and the only time he didn’t post at least two strikeouts was against the Dominican Republic, where he retired one runner. The DR was the best offensive team in the tournament, scoring 51 runs in five games and averaging an OPS over 1.000.<\/p>\n

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Daniel Palencia was LIGHTS OUT in the WBC \ud83d\udd25 pic.twitter.com\/3CJB3agXDt<\/a><\/p>\n

— Cubs Zone (@CubsZone) March 18, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n