Japan suffers shocking collapse to Venezuela in World Baseball Classic
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 semis since 2009 and clinched 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 will face unbeaten Italy on Monday, a day after the U.S. plays the Dominicans.
Abreu gave Venezuela a 7-5 lead when he homered off loser Hiromi Itoh in the sixth, driving 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 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 lifting a 2-1 slider from Ranger Suárez 427 feet to center after Ronald Acuña Jr. homered on the second pitch from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, driving a fastball 401 feet to right-center for his second home run of the WBC.
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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, who replaced the injured Seiya Suzuki at 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 on the eighth pitch against Chihiro Sumida to pull Venezuela within 5-4 in the fifth.
World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed four hits and two runs while striking out five in four innings.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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