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Shohei Ohtani and his Japanese teammates will not be world champions at the World Baseball Classic after falling to Venezuela in the quarterfinals.
Ohtani’s third home run of the tournament was spoiled as Japan saw its 11-game WBC winning streak snapped.
Wilyer Abreu hit a 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 semi-final since 2009 and clinched a six-nation berth for the 2028 Olympic baseball tournament, alongside the United States and the Dominican Republic.
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Venezuela will face undefeated Italy on Monday, a day after the United States played the Dominicans.
Abreu gave Venezuela a 7-5 lead when he homered off the underdog Hiromi Itoh in the sixth, sending 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 during a putout 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 Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s second pitch, driving a fastball 401 feet to right center for his second WBC home run.
SHOHEI OHTANI OPENS WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC WITH EXPLOSIVE BIG HIT AS JAPAN ANNIHILATES TAIWAN
Shohei Ohtani #16 of Team Japan reacts to a groundout call in the seventh inning during the game between Venezuela and Japan at LoanDepot Park on March 14, 2026, in Miami, Florida. (Gene Wang – Captured by 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 out for the final takedown.
Japan led 5-2 after a four-run third in which Shota Morishita, replacing the injured Seiya Suzuki in center field, hit a game-clinching three-run homer off Suárez. The veteran left-hander who earned a win in a group stage game against the Netherlands pitched 2 2/3 innings Saturday, allowing three hits, five runs and two home runs.
Garcia homered on the eighth pitch against Chihiro Sumida to bring Venezuela within 5-4 in the fifth.
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Yamamoto, the World Series MVP, allowed four hits and two runs while striking out five in four innings.
