Venezuela rallies to beat Shohei Ohtani and defending champ Japan 8-5, advance to WBC semis

Venezuela reached its first WBC semis since 2009 and clinched a spot in the six-nation field for the 2028 Olympic baseball tournament.

Venezuela rallies to stun Japan, advances to WBC semifinals

Wilyer Abreu hit a go-ahead, three-run shot in the sixth, and Venezuela rallied to stun defending champion Japan to advance to the World Baseball Classic semifinals.
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Tigers lefty shines again as Venezuela upsets Japan, advances to WBC semifinals

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.

Japan manager makes unexpected decision hours after WBC loss to Venezuela

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

Japan’s World Baseball Classic once again ended with Ohtani. This time, with a loss

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.

Japan makes big change immediately after shocking WBC loss

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,

Shohei Ohtani sounds off after Japan's WBC loss to Venezuela

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