Houston (AFP) – Wilyer Abreu and Maikel Garcia smashed home runs as Venezuela dethroned defending champion Japan 8-5 on Saturday to reach a World Baseball Classic semi-final against undefeated Italy. The South American team will meet the upstart Italians on Monday in Miami for a berth in Tuesday’s championship game against the winner of Sunday’s semi-final between the United States and Dominican Republic.
Japan had not lost in the Classic since a 2-1 semi-final defeat to the United States in 2017, but Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani could not lift his homeland into the final four. Abreu’s three-run homer in the sixth inning put Venezuela ahead for good, and the Boston Red Sox outfielder was overjoyed. “That was an exciting moment,” Abreu said. “I just tried to tie the game with a sacrifice fly. He gave me a really good pitch to hit and I’m really excited for this swing. I’ve never been in a place like this. The vibes are very high. In the semi-finals, I hope I can do the same thing as today.”
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In Saturday’s other quarter-final at Houston, Italy held off a late rally to beat Puerto Rico 8-6 and reach the Classic semis for the first time. Red Sox left-handed pitcher Ranger Suarez started for Venezuela against Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, last year’s World Series Most Valuable Player for the champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Venezuela’s Ronald Acuna Jr., an outfielder for Atlanta and 2023 National League Most Valuable Player, smashed the second pitch by Yamamoto over the centerfield wall for a 1-0 lead.
Ohtani, a four-time MLB league MVP and two-time World Series champion with the Dodgers, answered by blasting a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first inning to lift Japan level. Venezuela took a 2-1 lead in the second on back-to-back doubles by Ezequiel Tovar and Gleyber Torres. Japan answered in the third when Sosuke Genda walked, advanced on a bunt sacrifice, and, after Ohtani was intentionally walked, scored on a Teruaki Sato double down the right-field line. Shota Morishita, who entered when Seiya Suzuki hurt his right knee trying to steal second base, then blasted a three-run homer to left field to give Japan a 5-2 lead.
Garcia answered by belting a two-run homer in the fifth inning to pull Venezuela within 5-4. Abreu’s homer lifted Venezuela ahead, and a throwing error by pitcher Atsuki Taneichi in the eighth allowed Tovar to score from second, boosting the lead to 8-5. Japan brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth but couldn’t score. In the ninth, Venezuelan relief pitcher Daniel Palencia struck out Genda and pinch-hitter Kensuke Kondoh and induced Ohtani to fly out to give Venezuela the victory, which qualified the nation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
– ‘Amazing’ Italy – A lineup of mostly American-born players with Italian heritage seized an 8-2 edge before hanging on late. “It’s amazing,” Italy and Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said. “What a group of guys. I think we’ve known each other for 12 days now. It’s phenomenal the work this group has put in.”
The Italians, who stunned the star-studded United States in group play, gave up a Willi Castro leadoff homer for Puerto Rico in the first, but Pasquantino drove in a run to launch a four-run Italy outburst in the first. Puerto Rico pulled a run back in the second, but four more Italian runs in the fourth were enough to hold off a four-run eighth by Puerto Rico. Boston Red Sox reliever Greg Weissert held his nerve in the ninth to claim the last three outs as the Azzurri advanced.
© 2024 AFP
