MIAMI — Wilyer Abreu watched the ball leave the park and tossed his bat high in the air. His teammates streamed out of the dugout in celebration.
The comeback was on for Venezuela, and the win over reigning World Baseball Classic champion Japan was within reach.
Japan, its 11-game winning streak in the WBC on the line, held a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning of Saturday’s thrilling quarterfinal matchup at LoanDepot Park when Abreu put his team ahead with the biggest swing of the game: a three-run shot off Hiromi Itoh that sent the crowd into a passionate roar and helped clinch Venezuela’s 8-5 win and first WBC semifinal appearance in 17 years.
“That was an exciting moment,” Abreu said in a postgame television interview. “I tried to at least tie the game with a sac fly. He gave me a really good pitch to hit. I made good contact. I’m very excited for this win. Now in the semifinals I hope I can do the same thing I did today.”
Venezuela fell behind 5-2 when Maikel Garcia sparked a comeback with a two-run homer in the fifth. Abreu followed with his first homer of the tournament, a 409-foot drive to right that put his team ahead for good.
Abreu, a two-time Gold Glove-winning right fielder for Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, is hitting .294 with six RBIs in five games at the WBC. He described Saturday’s moment as one of the best in his career — but he’s no stranger to epic performances.
Abreu hit a grand slam and inside-the-park home run in the same game against the Cincinnati Reds last year, becoming the sixth player in MLB history and the second Red Sox player since 1939 to accomplish that. The inside-the-park homer was the first by a Boston player in Fenway Park since Jacoby Ellsbury on Sept. 19, 2011.
On Saturday, in a game with much higher stakes, Abreu said the team fed off the energy of the Venezuelan fans. They stood on their feet most of the game, cheering and banging drums after each play.
“I think that the crowd today and every game that we have played in this WBC, the fans have been great, incredible,” Abreu said. “You can feel the vibes. You can feel the support from the stands and from all the Venezuelans at home watching the game on TV.”
Earlier in the game, Japan’s Shohei Ohtani and Venezuela’s Ronald Acuña Jr. got things off to a pulsating start, combining for the first WBC contest with two leadoff homers in the first inning.
Acuña homered on the second pitch from reigning World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Atlanta Braves star and 2023 National League MVP driving a fastball 401 feet to right-center for his second homer of the tournament.
Ohtani, the Dodgers star and two-time reigning NL MVP, led off the bottom half against Ranger Suárez with a 427-foot drive to center on a 2-1 slider, a ball that was 113.6 mph off the bat. Ohtani watched the ball, flipped his bat and motioned with both hands to teammates in the third-base dugout. The home run, which made it 1-1, was Ohtani’s third of the WBC.
Acuña, Abreu and their teammates know they’re not done. Venezuela will face Italy in the semifinals on the same field Monday night but also clinched a spot in the six-nation field for the 2028 Olympic baseball tournament in Los Angeles, along with the United States and the Dominican Republic.
“I believe that this means a lot to us Venezuelans for the country,” Abreu said. “Venezuela has participated in the Olympics in other categories and other sports, but we are trying to write our own history. Our team is well prepared. … The job is not completed. We have more to do.”
Japan’s Seiya Suzuki left the game after appearing to hurt his right leg while he was caught stealing in the first inning.
The Chicago Cubs outfielder walked with one out against Suárez and as he slid headfirst into second base appeared to hurt his right knee. At first ruled safe by second base umpire Maikol Tibibijo, Suzuki was called out in a video review.
Entering the final season of an $85 million, five-year contract, the 31-year-old Suzuki has a .269 average with 87 homers and 296 RBIs with the Cubs.
Suzuki walked gingerly as he returned to the dugout, accompanied by an athletic trainer. After a slightly extended half-inning break, Suzuki was replaced in center field by Shota Morishita.
Morishita hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer off Suárez for a 5-2 lead in a four-run third that included Teruaki Sato’s RBI double after an intentional walk to Ohtani.
Maikel Garcia sparked the comeback when he hit a two-run homer on the eighth pitch against Chihiro Sumida to pull Venezuela within 5-4 in the fifth.
Italy 8, Puerto Rico 6
HOUSTON — Warm up the espresso machine and chill the wine: Italy has more baseball to play.
The Azzurri continued their perfect WBC run with Saturday’s quarterfinal win over Puerto Rico at Daikin Park to earn their first trip to the semifinals.
“It’s amazing,” Italy manager Francisco Cervelli said. “This is great. This is one of the best chapters of my life. It’s incredible. This group, it’s phenomenal.”
Italy didn’t homer Saturday after hitting a dozen through its first four wins — and downing espresso shots after each dinger — but its lineup still packed enough of a jolt to send the Puerto Ricans home after they had made the WBC quarterfinals for a sixth time.
J.J. D’Orazio doubled with three RBIs and Andrew Fischer drove in two runs for Italy, which trailed only briefly after a leadoff home run by Willi Castro before scoring four runs in the first inning to go on top for good. Puerto Rico rallied late, scoring four runs in the eighth, but Greg Weissert allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth for a five-out save.
Puerto Rico, in the quarterfinals for a sixth time, fell to 1-2 against Italy in the WBC.
Just as they have after every victory in this tournament, the Azzurri celebrated with bottles of wine in the clubhouse. The vintages have gotten nicer with each victory, with the first ones costing around $20 and more than tripling in price since then.
“There were some special bottles of wine today,” first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said with a smile.
Saturday’s victory came after Italy handed the United States a surprising 8-6 loss in the group stage. The Azzurri followed with a 9-1 defeat of Mexico that provided the help the Americans needed to reach the eight-team knockout bracket in the 20-team tournament.
The U.S. beat Canada 5-3 on Friday in the other quarterfinal at Daikin Park and will play a Sunday semifinal in Miami against the Dominican Republic, a 10-0 winner in seven innings against South Korea in a Friday quarterfinal at LoanDepot Park.
Cervelli and the players credited the win over the U.S. as the confidence boost this team needed in this history-making run.
“The key was the victory against USA,” Cervelli said. “Those guys beat one of the best teams in the world, best players in the world. Now they’re going to believe.”
Italy’s success in this tournament is huge for a country in which baseball isn’t nearly as popular as it is in many of the countries competing in the WBC.
“I don’t think it would be hyperbole to say this is the best day in Italian baseball history,” Pasquantino said.
The team has received some criticism because most of the roster is comprised of Italian-Americans, many of whom have never even been to Italy. The players have heard that and brushed it off, saying getting a chance to represent Italy in this tournament has helped them grow closer to their heritage.
“I’m just trying to take in as much as I can because I know that there’s a lot of people that are upset that we represent Italy, being Italian-American, but I take so much pride in it because it is my roots,” said Pasquantino, who was born and raised in Virginia and plays for the Kansas City Royals. “My family came over for a better life to America, and I honestly don’t have any issue representing those members of my family, and it’s just super cool to be given this opportunity from these guys.”
Andrew Fischer, who drove in two runs in Saturday’s victory, is fiercely proud of being from New Jersey and of his Italian heritage.
He’s so proud being from New Jersey that he has multiple tattoos on his left arm paying homage to the state. While the tattoos are meant to highlight his home state, prominently featured in that ink is one of the most famous Italian-Americans of all: Frank Sinatra.
Fischer already felt close to his Italian roots before the WBC but said this experience has enhanced that feeling.
“Being here and representing it definitely has brought some light to it in my life,” he said.
Now these plucky players will try to keep their undefeated run going and continue to impress the people in the country they represent.
“The level of confidence it’s growing and growing and growing,” Cervelli said. “We’ve got to stay humble, concentrate and do what we know that’s it. Play our game.”