Venezuela Clinches Spot in 2028 Olympics & Advances In WBC With Win Over Japan

Lead-off home runs from Ronald Acuna Jr. and Shohei Ohtani are how Saturday night’s World Baseball Classic quarterfinals game began. After some back and forth, Venezuela would come out on top, defeating the 2023 World Baseball Classic champ Japan by a final score of 8-5, reaching their first-ever Olympics, which will take place in 2028 in Los Angeles.

Following the game, Omar Lopez, Venezuela's manager, entered the press conference room with a hat with the Venezuelan flag and the number "58" citing its importance and how it correlates with the Olympics.

"It is the international code to call Venezuela," Lopez said. "So if you know someone in Venezuela, call them and tell them that Venezuela is in the Olympics and we are in the semifinal of the WBC."

No game in MLB history has featured leadoff homers from two players who had already won MVP in their careers, but on Saturday night, Acuña, followed by Ohtani, both did it. It also marked the first time in WBC history that this had happened.

Acuña’s homer was on the second pitch of the game off Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The ball left the bat at 106.2 mph and went 401 feet to straightaway center field, giving Venezuela a 1-0 lead. This was Venezuela's first leadoff HR in WBC history, and the 13th in tournament history.

Ohtani’s homer was off Ranger Suarez. The ball left the bat at 113.6 mph and went 427 feet to center field. It was Ohtani’s third home run of the World Baseball Classic, which tied the game at one apiece.

Venezuela would respond in the top of the second inning thanks to Gleyber Torres’ RBI double, making it a 2-1 game.

Manager Omar Lopez decided to intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani in the bottom of the third inning in favor of facing Teruaki Sato. He ripped a 108.6 mph RBI double to right field, tying the game. Shota Morishita, who had entered the game in the place of an injured Seiya Suzuki, who suffered right knee discomfort after attempting a stolen base, hit his first home run of the World Baseball Classic, a three-run homer, making it 5-2.

Suarez's second World Baseball Classic start wasn’t much better than the first one, going 2 2/3 innings, allowing five runs off of three hits (two home runs), walking three, and striking out four. He finishes his 2026 WBC, allowing a total of six earned runs (11.57 ERA).

As Venezuela trailed, one of the biggest pitching performances of the night came from Detroit Tigers minor league signing Emanuel De Jesus, who, in 2 1/3 innings of work, allowed one hit, walking one, and struck out three, with one of those strikeouts being Shohei Ohtani.

“After his outing against Israel, the manager asked when De Jesus could pitch again,” Lopez said. “Depending on the opponent, I preferred Korea or Japan because of their left-handed hitters. He threw five innings the first time, so maybe three this time. If things had gone differently, I would have been criticized, but that was the plan. Butto had finished after two errors, and Zerpa was ready.”

It wouldn’t be until the top of the fifth inning that Venezuela struck back. Kansas City Royals star third baseman Maikel Garcia took lefty Chihiro Sumida deep to make it a one-run ballgame. The ball left the bat at 104.1 mph and went 406 feet to left center. It marked Garcia’s first home run of the WBC.

The biggest moment in the game, and possibly for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, was when Boston Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu took Hiromi Itoh deep for a three-run shot that went 409 feet into the second deck in right field. This marked Abreu’s first home run of the World Baseball Classic. This gave Venezuela a 7-5 lead.

For Venezuela, the icing on the cake came in the top of the eighth inning, where a throwing error from Japan pitcher Atsuki Taneichi allowed Colorado Rockies shortstop Ezequiel to score from second base and take a commanding 8-5 lead.

What’s Next?

With the win, Venezuela will move on to the semifinal round of the World Baseball Classic, where they will play host to Italy on Monday at 8:00 pm.

Although this went down as one of the greatest games in World Baseball Classic history, Sunday night’s matchup between the United States of America and the Dominican Republic may top this one. It’ll be Paul Skenes for the US and Luis Severino for the Dominican Republic. First pitch is at 8:00 pm from loanDepot park.

Kevin Barral is in Miami covering the World Baseball Classic for DiamondCentric.