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Shohei Ohtani and his Japanese teammates will not repeat as World Baseball Classic champions after falling apart against Venezuela in the quarterfinal round.
Ohtani’s third home run of the tournament was wasted as Japan saw its 11-game WBC winning streak snapped.
Wilyer Abreu hit a go-ahead, three-run homer after Maikel Garcia sparked the comeback with a two-run shot, and Venezuela beat the defending champions 8-5 on Saturday night.
Venezuela reached its first WBC semifinal since 2009 and earned a spot in the six-nation field for the 2028 Olympic baseball tournament along with the United States and the Dominican Republic.
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Venezuela faces undefeated Italy on Monday, the day after the USA plays the Dominicans.
Abreu gave Venezuela a 7-5 lead when he homered off shortstop Hiromi Itoh in the sixth and drove a 2-1 four-seam fastball 409 feet to right for his first home run of the tournament. Ezequiel Tovar made it 8-5 in the eighth, leading off with a double and then scoring on a throwing error by Atsuki Taneichi on a pickoff attempt.
Ohtani, the 2023 WBC MVP, led off the bottom of the first by lofting a 2-1 slider from Ranger Suárez 427 feet to center after Ronald Acuña Jr. homered on the second pitch from Yoshinobu Yamamoto and drove a fastball 401 feet to right-center for his second WBC home run.
SHOHEI OHTANI OPENS WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC WITH EXPLOSIVE GRAND SLAM AS JAPAN DEVELOPS TAIWAN
Shohei Ohtani #16 of Team Japan reacts to a strike out call in the seventh inning during the game between Venezuela and Japan at loanDepot Park on March 14, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Gene Wang – Capture At Media/Getty Images)
Enmanuel De Jesus pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the win and Daniel Palencia got the save, ending Japan’s fate by getting Ohtani to pop out for the final out.
Japan led 5-2 after a four-run third in which Shota Morishita, replacing the injured Seiya Suzuki in center field, hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer off Suárez. The veteran left-hander, who picked up a win in a group-stage game against the Netherlands, pitched 2 2/3 innings on Saturday, allowing three hits, five runs and two home runs.
Garcia homered in the eighth against Chihiro Sumida to pull Venezuela within 5-4 in the fifth.
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World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed four hits and two runs while striking out five in four innings.
