Venezuela knocks out reigning WBC champion Japan

The World Baseball Classic will have a new champion in 2026.

Venezuela eliminated Japan with an 8-5 win Saturday in the quarterfinals in Miami to set up a semifinal showdown with Italy on Monday. The winner of that game will face the victor of Sunday's star-studded contest between the United States and Dominican Republic. The tournament final is Tuesday (8 p.m. ET).

Reigning WBC MVP Shohei Ohtani popped out to shortstop to end the game.

Wilyer Abreu drove in the eventual winning run with his go-ahead, three-run homer in the sixth inning.

"That's really difficult what crosses my mind. Many things cross my mind. It's so fast. It's a great feeling, something that I wouldn't imagine and very difficult to describe," Abreu said of his home run. "It's a unique moment and one of the best moments that I have had in my career."

Ronald Acuña Jr. and Maikel Garcia also went deep in the victory. Enmanuel De Jesus picked up the win in relief. Ranger Suarez surrendered five earned runs on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings in his start.

Venezuela also qualified for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles with the win.

"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."

Meanwhile, Japan hadn't lost a WBC game since the 2017 semifinals. Ohtani and Shota Morishita, who replaced the injured Seiya Suzuki, hit home runs in the defeat. Reliever Hiromi Itoh was tagged with the loss after giving up the Abreu homer. World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed two earned runs on four hits with one walk and five strikeouts across four innings.

"I think many countries are getting better," Japanese manager Hirokazu Ibata said postgame. "So I know we lost this time, but Team Japan - I would hope Japan would get better next time. I will hope Team Japan will win next time."