Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata makes an unexpected announcement hours after loss to Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic.

The 2026 World Baseball Classic has seen favorites Japan eliminated and MLB star Ronald Acuña Jr. had a lot to say after Venezuela's win. Acuña Jr. and his Venezuela are on track for a historic finish at this year's WBC after never placing top four in the previous five editions.

Ohtani hit a first-inning home run but also struck out twice and had the game-ending flyout in Japan’s quarterfinal loss to Venezuela.

Shohei Ohtani sounded off after Japan’s loss to Venezuela, which officially eliminated them from the World Baseball Classic.

Team Japan was widely considered among the favorites to win the 2026 World Baseball Classic after defeating Team USA for the tournament championship in 2023. Armed with the reigning National League MVP (Shohei Ohtani) and starting the reigning World Series MVP (Yoshinobu Yamamoto) in the quarterfinals against Venezuela,

The win knocked out the three-time WBC champions and sent Venezuela to Monday night’s semifinal against Italy. Tigers right-hander Keider Montero has been announced as the starting pitcher for Venezuela. It was the earliest exit in tournament history for Japan, which has never failed to reach the semifinals.

Advertisement Down by a run in the top of the sixth, Abreu came to the plate with nobody out and runners on the corners, knowing a base hit, or even a deep fly ball, would be enough to turn Saturday’s quarterfinal against Japan into a new ballgame.

Venezuela manager Omar Lopez had a huge declaration about his team following their win against Japan in the WBC.