Venezuela's Wilyer Abreu belts a three-run homer in the sixth inning against Japan in a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal on March 14, 2026, in Miami. (©Sam Navarro/IMAGN IMAGES//via REUTERS)
Samurai Japan squandered a 5-2 lead in the third inning as Venezuela steamrolled past the reigning World Baseball Classic champion, winning 8-5 in the tournament quarterfinals on Sunday night, March 14.
In Miami, Shota Morishita's three-run home run to left off Venezuela southpaw starter Ranger Suarez produced Japan's final runs of the game.
After Venezuela scored the final six runs of the game and quashed Japan's championship aspirations, 2023 WBC MVP Shohei Ohtani summed up the team's disappointment.
"Truly, anything other than a championship feels like a failure," Ohtani said, according to MLB.com. "Everyone on Team Japan was working hard, aiming only for the championship. … It's unfortunate that it ended this way."
Morishita entered the game as a replacement for starting center fielder Seiya Suzuki, who walked off the field with right knee pain after an unsuccessful stolen-base attempt in the first inning.
After Morishita's homer made it 5-2, Suarez pitched to one more batter, then exited the game. Eduard Bazardo, the first of six Venezuela relievers, took over the pitching duties and got the final out in the bottom of the third.
Venezuela's pitchers combined to hold Japan to seven hits ― just four after Suarez's departure. They issued four walks and struck out 12 batters, including Ohtani (twice), Teruaki Sato (twice) and Morishita (twice).
With one out in the top of the fifth, Venezuela pulled to within 5-4 on Maikel Garcia's two-run homer to left-center off Japan reliever Chihiro Sumida.
Abreu Blast Lifts Venezuela
In the sixth, the long ball secured the lead for Venezuela at loanDepot Park.
After Ezequiel Tovar and Gleyber Torres hit back-to-back singles off Hiromi Itoh, who took over pitching duties to start the inning, Wilyer Abreu ripped a three-run shot over the right-field fence to give Venezuela a 7-5 lead. The Boston Red Sox slugger, who hit 22 homers in the 2025 MLB season, sent Itoh's 2-1 fastball flying 409 feet (about 125 meters) over the wall.
Samurai Japan was sent down in order in both the sixth and seven innings, with Kenya Wakatsuki and Ohtani getting called out on strikes in successive at-bats in the latter frame against Angel Zerpa.
Venezuela increased its lead to 8-5 in the eighth on Japan pitcher Atsuki Taneichi's botched pickoff attempt. Tovar, who reached on a double, stole second and ran home as the errant throw sailed into center field.
Tovar, a shortstop for the Colorado Rockies, went 3-for-4 and scored three runs.
Samurai Japan Unable to Capitalize on Late Scoring Chance
In the bottom of the eighth, Japan's Kazuma Okamoto and Munetaka Murakami had back-to-back singles with two outs. But Shugo Maki, representing the tying run at home plate, grounded out to Tovar to end the scoring threat.
Los Angeles Angels lefty Yusei Kikuchi, Japan's sixth pitcher, allowed a leadoff single before getting three quick outs.
Down to its three final outs, Samurai Japan sent Sosuke Genda, the No 8 hitter, to the plate to lead off the home half of the ninth. Daniel Palencia, the new pitcher that inning, struck out Genda. Pinch hitter Kensuke Kondoh also fanned, looking at a 99.4 mph (160-kph) four-seam fastball (Palencia's 2-2 offering). Home plate umpire Chris Segal signaled that Kondoh was out on strikes.
Ohtani worked the count to 2-1 and then hit a flyball to Tovar, who caught the ball to end the game.
Entering the knockout stage of the tournament, Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata's squad had a 4-0 record in games held at Tokyo Dome.
What was Ibata's message to the team after its disappointing loss?
"It's true that we lost the game, so we have to work [to get] better," Ibata told reporters. "And also for the pitchers, I think we need to throw straight balls and not rely on curveballs. And three years later we're going to come back again [to the WBC], and I believe it will connect to the development of Japanese baseball."
Early Scoring for Both Teams
Ronald Acuna Jr led off the top of the first with a homer to right-center off Japan starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Also in the first, Ohtani replicated Acuna's accomplishment with a tying homer to center off Suarez.
Early on, Venezuela hitters were pouncing on Yamamoto's pitches.
Venezuela took a 2-1 lead on a Torres line-drive double to left in the second inning. Torres drove in Tovar, who preceded him with a double to center.
After yielding the go-ahead run, Yamamoto walked Abreu before halting the Venezuela rally by getting three consecutive outs.
Yamamoto pitched four-plus innings and gave up four hits and two runs. He walked one and struck out five in a 69-pitch outing.
"I'm really frustrated. It's over already and I can only say I'm frustrated," Yamamoto said, according to Kyodo News. "I gave up a home run right at the start and also let them go ahead in the second after giving up an extra-base hit."
He added, "I somehow got through the third and fourth, but I was a bit taken aback by their momentum, and I feel it had a huge impact on how the game went."
A Manager's Perspective After Beating Samurai Japan
How did Venezuela skipper Omar Lopez react to his team's triumph in the quarterfinal?
"Venezuela has always been a powerhouse in baseball," Lopez told reporters. "We have always been a powerhouse ― it's not because we beat Japan, we've become a powerhouse. No way.
"We are a global powerhouse just like Japan or the US. We all have an importance in the baseball world. But we have had so many players, legends, players that are retired, others that are active. Yes, we can say that we are a global power."
Up Next
In the WBC semifinals, Venezuela meets Italy and the United States plays the Dominican Republic. The semifinal winners will meet Tuesday night (Wednesday AM JST) in the championship game.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Follow Ed's [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and he can be found on X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
